{"id":3408,"date":"2022-01-17T15:53:03","date_gmt":"2022-01-17T15:53:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/filter.watch\/en\/?p=3408"},"modified":"2025-06-03T08:40:57","modified_gmt":"2025-06-03T08:40:57","slug":"policy-monitor-december-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filter.watch\/english\/2022\/01\/17\/policy-monitor-december-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"Policy Monitor – December 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"

The publication of our December 2021 Policy Monitor coincides with the second anniversary of the tragic shooting down of the Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 \u2014 which resulted in the deaths of all 176 passengers and crew on board \u2014 by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The victims of the tragedy are remembered online under the hashtag #IWillLightACandletoo and in Persian under #\u0645\u0646_\u0647\u0645_\u0634\u0645\u0639\u06cc_\u0631\u0648\u0634\u0646_\u062e\u0648\u0627\u0647\u0645_\u06a9\u0631\u062f, however the hashtag was soon <\/span>restricted by Instagram<\/span><\/a> for \u2018not meeting [its] community guidelines.\u2019 The restriction was later lifted and said to be a \u2018mistake,\u2019 according to Instagram\u2019s parent company, Meta (Facebook). Our January 2022 report will include more details on this incident.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In December, Iran\u2019s ICT Ministry, Eisa Zarehpour<\/span>, <\/b>attended a public session at the Parliament to set out his Ministry\u2019s priorities. Meanwhile, the Supreme Council for Cyberspace held a meeting to discuss\u00a0 satellite internet services. The dangerous \u201c<\/span>Online Services Bill<\/span><\/a>\u201d also made headlines yet again, though the Bill's final approval appears to remain some distance away.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Our monthly <\/span>Network Monitor<\/span><\/a> supplements this report with the latest on internet disruptions in Iran.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Supreme Council for Cyberspace Holds Meeting Chaired by President Ebrahim Raisi\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n

On <\/span>21 December<\/span><\/a>, the Supreme Council for Cyberspace (SCC) held a meeting chaired by President Ebrahim Raisi. The Council discussed the resolutions on the \u2018Expansion of Digital Services\u2019 and the \u2018Requirements for Dealing With Satellite Internet Services.\u2019 The text for the two new resolutions have not yet been published by the SCC as they do not appear to have received final approval during the session. <\/span>Previous<\/span><\/a> SCC sessions have also focused on satellite internet services. As <\/span>Filterwatch <\/span><\/i>has already <\/span>written<\/span><\/a>, these services are unlikely to bring unrestricted access to the global internet for Iranians as the SCC works\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

During the session, the SCC approved the creation of an \u2018<\/span>Online Media Headquarters<\/span><\/a>\u2019. While organisations who are members of this group are required to \u201cshare and exchange online information\u201d, limited details are available as to the membership, aims and objectives of this headquarters.<\/span><\/p>\n

Latest Developments Around the Dangerous \u2018Online Services Bill\u2019<\/b><\/h2>\n

On <\/span>27 December<\/span><\/a> the Parliamentary Joint Special Committee responsible for reviewing the \u2018<\/span>User Protection and Core Online Services<\/span><\/a>\u2019 (commonly known as \u0637\u0631\u062d \u0635\u06cc\u0627\u0646\u062a\u00a0 in Persian and hereafter referred to as the \u2018Online Services Bill\u2019) held its 11th session. The session was held following the <\/span>decision to refer the Bill<\/span><\/a> to the Parliamentary Research Centre (PRC) for review, in light of the ICT Ministry\u2019s comments and recommendations on the Bill in November 2021, which were not made public. The PRC <\/span>published a response<\/span><\/a> on its website on 22 December asking for more time for review due to the Bill\u2019s \u2018extensive problems\u2019 citing examples such as\u00a0 \u2018various conflicts with the Constitution and existing policies, lack of transparency in the legislative and review process, weakening investment security, insufficient consideration to technical aspects of internet gateways and online services, encouraging the migration of talent\u2019.\u00a0 The PRC\u2019s public communication of their response letter via their website drew criticism from its Chair and members of the Special Committee during the session, who also voiced their disagreement with the PRC\u2019s comments on the contents of the Bill.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Also during the session <\/span>a new draft of the Bill<\/span><\/a> dated 26 December 2021 was announced along with a further name change: The latest draft of the Bill is now referred to as the \u2018Regulatory System for Online Services Bill\u2019 (Persian: \u0637\u0631\u062d \u0646\u0638\u0627\u0645 \u062a\u0646\u0638\u06cc\u0645 \u0645\u0642\u0631\u0631\u0627\u062a \u062e\u062f\u0645\u0627\u062a \u0641\u0636\u0627\u06cc \u0645\u062c\u0627\u0632\u06cc), though <\/span>Filterwatch <\/span><\/i>will continue to refer to the Bill as the \u201cOnline Services Bill\u201d for consistency.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The latest draft of the Bill is not substantively different to its <\/span>previous versions<\/span><\/a>, though some minor changes were introduced. However, the Bill is subject to further change, as the next day - on 28 December - the <\/span>Committee agreed to return the Bill to the PRC<\/span><\/a> for 20 days to allow for further time for review. In its current form, the \u2018Online Services Bill\u2019 among other things, would increase state control of international services and military control over the domestic internet infrastructure. The proposed measures pose a number of significant dangers to digital rights in Iran, including the likelihood of mass surveillance, while not offering any meaningful data protection measures for Iranians. <\/span>Filterwatch <\/span><\/i>will continue to monitor the developments surrounding the Bill and will provide further updates in future editions of the Policy Monitor.<\/span><\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s ICT Minister Appears at a Public Session in Parliament\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n

On <\/span>7 December<\/span><\/a> Iran\u2019s ICT Minister, Eisa Zarehpour, appeared at a public session in Majles (parliament) to respond to a report by the Parliamentary Industry and Mines Committee on the ICT Ministry\u2019s performance. During the session, Zarepour made a number of comments on the Ministry\u2019s objectives under the current administration:<\/span><\/p>\n