{"id":1928,"date":"2018-12-19T05:28:45","date_gmt":"2018-12-19T05:28:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/filter.watch\/en\/?p=1928"},"modified":"2021-05-28T15:13:56","modified_gmt":"2021-05-28T15:13:56","slug":"despite-slow-growth-irans-domestic-messaging-apps-remain-a-threat-to-digital-rights-in-iran","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filter.watch\/english\/2018\/12\/19\/despite-slow-growth-irans-domestic-messaging-apps-remain-a-threat-to-digital-rights-in-iran\/","title":{"rendered":"Despite Slow Growth, Iran\u2019s Domestic Messaging Apps Remain A Threat to Digital Rights In Iran"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In February 2018, shortly after the implementation of a temporary ban on Telegram, Small Media\u00a0published a report<\/a>\u00a0profiling some of the messaging apps looking to take its place as Iran\u2019s most widely used messaging app. Over the last year, each of these pretenders has received substantial support from the Iranian state apparatus, including repeated publicity, supportive policy development, and material resources.<\/p>\n

So since last year, have any of these homegrown messaging apps been able to topple Telegram from its post? And what are Iranian officials\u2019 aspirations for the future of these apps?<\/p>\n

Over the last ten months the government has steadily intensified its support for domestic messaging apps. Yet in the face of slow user growth, an increasing number of officials and\u00a0commentators<\/a>\u00a0have come to deem the initiative a failure.<\/p>\n

This perception of the Iranian government\u2019s failure stems from the misunderstanding that Iran is seeking to completely replace foreign messaging apps with domestic ones. While this may be a long-term ambition, Iran\u2019s immediate objective is to popularise the use of domestic messaging apps nationwide. This was not an ad-hoc response to the filtering of Telegram, but a policy that was carefully designed and agreed on months before the December 2017 protests which lead to an eventual ban of Telegram.<\/p>\n

In this issue of Filterwatch, we\u2019ll outline the key developments over the last ten months, and argue that the ICT Ministry\u2019s policy of promoting domestic messaging apps continues to pose a significant long-term threat to digital rights in Iran.<\/p>\n

We argue that to call domestic messaging apps a failure is to ignore some troubling developments over the course of the last ten months, including the extent of user data collected by domestic messaging apps, or the ongoing plans to promote and integrate domestic messaging apps into Iran\u2019s ongoing expansion of eGovernment and digital infrastructure development.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The History of Iran\u2019s Domestic Messenger Services<\/h1>\n