{"id":3991,"date":"2022-11-04T13:18:19","date_gmt":"2022-11-04T13:18:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/filter.watch\/en\/?p=3991"},"modified":"2022-11-04T14:13:33","modified_gmt":"2022-11-04T14:13:33","slug":"part-one-childrens-internet-and-digital-rights-in-iran-policies-and-legislations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filter.watch\/english\/2022\/11\/04\/part-one-childrens-internet-and-digital-rights-in-iran-policies-and-legislations\/","title":{"rendered":"Part One – Children’s Internet and Digital Rights in Iran: Policies and Legislation"},"content":{"rendered":"

In September 2014 President Hassan Rouhani\u2019s government attempted to <\/span>end the telecom monopoly<\/span><\/a> by granting 3G and 4G service licenses to all providers, bringing mass access to fast mobile internet into reality, even in the most remote and economically deprived parts of the country, without the need for major capital investments in infrastructure, such as fiber optic internet.<\/span><\/p>\n

The increased reach and speed of mobile internet sparked an interest from the authorities in the children\u2019s use of the internet. Under pressure from conservative factions opposing internet freedoms, in 2015 the government <\/span>ratified<\/span><\/a> a plan drafted by the Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA) to design a SIM card for children, marking the beginning of a years-long effort by Iranian authorities to implement further restrictions on children\u2019s access to the internet, a policy which is also part of the macro-planning for Iran\u2019s information controls in the form of a <\/span>tiered or layered access<\/span><\/a> to the internet.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There are no exact figures on under-18 internet users in Iran. However, based on figures <\/span>published<\/span><\/a> by the Iran Statistical Center in 2017 and the <\/span>Education Ministry\u2019s Cultural Research Center<\/span><\/a> in 2018 and the <\/span>Attorney General\u2019s Office<\/span><\/a> in 2019, the number could be around 20 million users. In October 2021 Iran\u2019s Statistical Center <\/span>put<\/span><\/a> the number of students aged 7-18 at about 15.7 million. It should be noted that according to the latest <\/span>figures<\/span><\/a> from inside Iran, there are more than 140 million mobile phone subscribers in Iran.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Between August 2016 and February 2022, four legislative instruments were enacted in connection with children\u2019s use of mobile internet, one by the government and three by the Supreme Council for Cyberspace (SCC) which provided instructions to Internet Service Providers (ISP), as well as the Judiciary and security agencies.<\/span><\/p>\n

The first resolution focused on using more typical censorship methods to block access to content deemed unsuitable for children. However, over time the authorities decided instead to focus on creating a separate network for children within the country\u2019s domestic network known as the National Information Network (NIN).<\/span><\/p>\n

According to policies, content accessible to children on the NIN are to be set according to: age, gender, and \u201cphysical traits such as disabilities,\u201d. However, due to a lack of more specific or clear guidelines on how content should be sifted, so far ISPs have taken to interpreting these policies should look in practice themselves.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The implementation of policies to give restricted access to specific parts of the internet as approved by the government is part of the long-term policies of connection to giving tiered\/layered\u00a0 access to the internet to different sections of society and the use of <\/span>legal VPNs <\/span><\/a>which is\u00a0 yet to be introduced.<\/span><\/p>\n

The steps to \u201cprotect children\u201d on the internet have gone as far as requiring \u2018<\/span>Safe Search<\/span><\/a>' to be turned on as a default setting for children and adults on certain ISPs, enforcing the use of domestic search engines over international websites. This is yet another tactic to coerce users onto domestic online services, by directing them to use the \u2018children's internet ecosystem\u2019 under the guise of protecting children online. Such measures are needed to help implement Iran\u2019s internet policy to move users' onto domestic content and services, which have not been popular with those inside Iran. In the near future, we are likely to see more measures to enforce migrations to domestic online services which run high risks for users which would be difficult to reverse.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Macro-Policies for\u00a0Children\u2019s Internet\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Prior to initiating wider internet policies for children, the Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA) had taken steps to limit children\u2019s online access. In fact, under pressure from hardliners, the government ratified specific guidelines before other institutions such as the SCC were involved.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2013, during Hassan Rouhani\u2019s first term as President, hardliners raised alarm about the government\u2019s plan to introduce faster and cheaper mobile internet access. On 21 August of the same year, Ruhollah Momen-Nasab who was the Head of Digital Media at the Ministry for Culture and Islamic Guidance during Mahmoud Ahmadinejad\u2019s Administration, <\/span>said<\/span><\/a> he had met with senior clerics in Qom who had expressed concern about faster internet. Days later, Momen-Nasab during a meeting of the \u201cRevolutionary Cyberactivists\u201d <\/span>said<\/span><\/a>: \u201c3G internet amounts to a cultural chemical bomb in every mobile phone, giving enemies access to private information.\u201d Momen-Nasab is <\/span>said<\/span><\/a> to be one of the main architects of the so-called \u201cUser Protection\u201d Bill.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Eventually conservative protests led Grand Ayatollah Makkarem Shirazi, a hardliner loyal to the Islamic Republic to issue a <\/span>fatwa<\/span><\/a> on 25 August 2014, against using the faster internet, because it would allow \u201cteenagers and even children to access content, movies and photos contrary to Islamic morals and beliefs.\u201d Following on from the condemnation of higher internet speeds, on 28 April 2015, a group of MPs <\/span>summoned<\/span><\/a> the then ICT Minister Mahmoud Vaezi to Majles (Parliament) where he received a yellow-card warning about the issue.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mobile Internet Regulations to Protect Children\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Opposition to high internet speeds eventually reached a stage of forcing the government to act on two fronts: continue to develop 3G and 4G service, while <\/span>bringing<\/span><\/a> into force regulation in September 2016, known as \u201cMobile Internet Regulation to Protect Children and Teenagers.\u201d This was the first step to create restrictions for children online and set up a special, limited, network for under-18 internet users, including the <\/span>plan<\/span><\/a> to create special SIM cards for children.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The most important aspects of the children\u2019s SIM card include:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. For use by 3-18 year old\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Ban on the use of VPNs\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Using a specific ecosystem\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. Access to only Persian language and Islamic-Shia content<\/span><\/li>\n
  5. Allocating 15 percent of country\u2019s traffic to children\u2019s network<\/span><\/li>\n
  6. Categorizing online content \u2018appropriate\u2019 to gender, age and disabilities\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  7. More stringent punishments for illegal content<\/span><\/li>\n
  8. To manage children\u2019s content, creating a committee with representatives from a number of Ministries, Judiciary, state radio and television (IRIB), Police, the Islamic Development Organization, Shia seminary schools, the Basij, and the Supreme Council for Cyberspace (SCC).\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  9. Mandatory \u2018Safe Search\u2019 for all users<\/span><\/li>\n
  10. Ban on the use of Instagram, Google and Telegram.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Resolution on the Requirements for the National Information Network<\/b><\/h2>\n

    The resolution on the \u2018<\/span>Requirements for the NIN<\/span><\/a>\u2019 was ratified by the SCC, the country\u2019s top internet policymaking body, on 10 December 2016, aimed at \u201cintegrating views and guaranteeing network design coordination with upstream macro requirements\u201d according to the resolution.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Other parts of the resolution state that \u2018supporting the expansion of healthy, safe and useful virtual spaces, especially for children and families\u201d is one of NIN\u2019s primary objectives, The only other explanation on this topic is contained in a footnote which states: \u201cthe possibility of supporting the ranking and classification of content, services and tools for protecting children and families through white-lists etc.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

    The \u201cwhite-list\u201d refers to information control tools <\/span>used<\/span><\/a> to restrict the internet in recent years - especially by the Information Technology Organization (ITO) -\u00a0 following the November 2019 internet shutdown. This \u201cwhite-list\u201d is a drastic method of internet censorship that allows for specific websites, apps and other online content to be accessed, while blocking everything else. The \u201cblack-list\u201d method in contrast blocks specific websites, apps and other content while leaving other online content accessible.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    In July 2022, Amir Mojiry, an Iranian Twitter user made a \u2018<\/span>Freedom of Information Request<\/span><\/a>\u2019\u00a0 to ask the ICT Ministry to provide details of the white- list, the<\/span> response<\/span><\/a> to which stated that the information was \u201cconfidential\u201d and that \u201cthe requested document and information is confidential and we are not permitted to present it to unauthorized persons.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    [Images of Amir Mojiry\u2019s <\/span>request<\/span><\/a> and the ministry\u2019s response regarding the classified nature of the white-list\u2019s \u201csafe content\u201d for children.]<\/span><\/p>\n

    National Information Network Macro[-Level] Plan and Architecture Resolution\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    The National Information Network Macro[-Level] Plan and Architecture\u2019 resolution <\/span>passed<\/span><\/a> by the SCC on 15 September 2020 is said to be aimed at \u201cstrengthening, organizing and developing online content and user services.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

    In the section on operational goals, the resolution mentions \u201cthe creation of an exclusive network\u201d for children and teenagers and \u201cincreasing the share of useful content for the under-18 group to 15 percent of the country\u2019s total national traffic.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

    Article 6, 3.2.2 of NIN\u2019s Macro Plan<\/span><\/h3>\n

    This clause has many ambiguities:<\/span><\/p>\n