The growth of Iran’s tech startup community, once observed with awe due to its exponential growth which began around a decade ago, has been experiencing a slow-down. A contributing factor has been the increasingly apparent pressures exerted by Iranian authorities in order to bring the country’s private tech sector further under government control, with newsContinue reading “Disruption of Iran’s Private Tech Sector”
Tag Archives: localisation
Iran’s New ICT Minister: Internet Friend or Foe?
Eisa Zarepour (born 1980, Kermanshah province) was a largely unknown figure in Iran before his appointment to the post of Minister of Information and Communications Technology in August 2021. While maintaining a low profile, Zarepour has taken on several influential government positions over the years. During the Ahmadinejad administration he held several senior ICT positionsContinue reading “Iran’s New ICT Minister: Internet Friend or Foe?”
Policy Monitor – November 2020
In November, the Supreme Council for Cyberspace failed to meet for a second month, while the Majles finally voted for two MPs to fill the two parliamentary seats in the Committee for Determining Instances of Criminal Content also known as the country’s internet filtering committee. Conditions for Iran’s gig workers also made headlines as driversContinue reading “Policy Monitor – November 2020”
The Iran-China Partnership: A Bad Deal for Citizens and Tech Companies
In the early months of 2020 the Iranian government announced that the cabinet had approved the draft text of an agreement for a 25 year partnership with China. From the get-go the announcement received a significant amount of attention from the Iranian public and from high-profile political figures, despite few details being made publicly available. Continue reading “The Iran-China Partnership: A Bad Deal for Citizens and Tech Companies”
What Does Iran’s 11th Parliament Mean for the Internet?
Against a backdrop of a historically low voter turnout at 42.6%, the conservative and principalists secured a massive majority in the Majles (Iran’s Parliament) during this February’s parliamentary elections. It has now been a few months since the 11th Parliament began its term. With political alliances consolidating, and the parliament deciding its agenda and setting prioritiesContinue reading “What Does Iran’s 11th Parliament Mean for the Internet?”
Iran’s “Legal VPNs” and the Threat to Digital Rights
On 13 April this year, the Secretary to the Supreme Council for Cyberspace (SCC) Abolhassan Firouzabadi announced that a regulatory guidance for “Legal VPNs” has been finalised by the Committee for Determining Instances of Criminal Content (CDICC). He also added that the ICT Ministry will be in charge of deciding who will have access toContinue reading “Iran’s “Legal VPNs” and the Threat to Digital Rights”
Data Insecurity On Iran’s Localised Internet
With our ever increasing dependency on online and digital services, there has been a global rise in the number of data leaks, leaving users and businesses more vulnerable to cyber attacks. This problem is no different in Iran, which has experienced a series of major data leaks in recent years. A particularly significant data leak Continue reading “Data Insecurity On Iran’s Localised Internet”
Iran’s Self-Isolated Internet Is Ill-Equipped To Confront COVID-19
Iran has been on the frontlines of the struggle against the COVID-19 pandemic for several months now. With its first documented cases arriving in the city of Qom on February 19, the virus spread rapidly, claiming at least 6,028 lives according to official figures as of May 1. In response to the crisis, the IranianContinue reading “Iran’s Self-Isolated Internet Is Ill-Equipped To Confront COVID-19”