{"id":4630,"date":"2024-01-05T16:33:04","date_gmt":"2024-01-05T16:33:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/filter.watch\/en\/?p=4630"},"modified":"2024-09-14T22:32:47","modified_gmt":"2024-09-14T22:32:47","slug":"nazer-app-how-iran-is-using-technology-to-suppress-womens-rights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filter.watch\/english\/2024\/01\/05\/nazer-app-how-iran-is-using-technology-to-suppress-womens-rights\/","title":{"rendered":"Nazer App: How Iran is Using Technology to Suppress Women’s Rights"},"content":{"rendered":"

Authors<\/span><\/span><\/span>: Azin Mohajerin, Amir Rashidi<\/em><\/p>\n

Iranian women\u2019s privacy and freedom have been increasingly violated through the government\u2019s use of technology, especially after the <\/span>Women, Life, Freedom<\/span><\/a> movement. The government has a long history of using technology to spy on Iranian citizens, such as <\/span>SIAM<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>facial recognition<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>e-government services<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>surveillance tools<\/span><\/a> developed by the prosecutor\u2019s office, and the Nazar mobile phone application.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Iranian government is not only using technical tools, but also implementing policies to spy on Iranians, with women bearing the brunt of these measures. One of these policies is the \u201c<\/span>People\u2019s Lifestyle Assessment System<\/span><\/a>\u201d, which was approved in the \u201cSeventh Development Plan\u201d bill. This system aims to track the every move of Iranian citizens.<\/span><\/p>\n

Against this backdrop, FilterWatch has obtained an Android application called Nazer, which the <\/span>national police<\/span><\/a> force of Iran (formally known as the Law Enforcement Command of the Islamic Republic of Iran, or FARAJA based on its Farsi acronym) uses to report people and their vehicles who violate the hijab law. Nazer is a Persian word that means \u201csupervisor\u201d or \u201coverseer\u201d. Our research shows that the app can only report vehicles with improper hijab for now. But static analysis of its code reveals with potential future updates, the app could also be used to report people for protesting, drinking alcohol, cruising around in vehicles, and other things the government deems criminal.<\/span><\/p>\n

In its current state, Nazer is a suite of software that covers various aspects of public and private life, and relies on the participation of \u201cspontaneous public forces\u201d, or vetted volunteers who act as hijab enforcers and use the Nazer app to report offenders. <\/span>
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\n<\/span>This report examines the history, features, and implications of Nazer.\u00a0 It argues that it is a digital tool for repression and surveillance, as it lets police officers or their approved volunteers make decisions without any independent judicial oversight, thereby violating international human rights law on access to a fair trial.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Nazer system is not available on any app stores or public websites, making it difficult to access and analyze by independent researchers and journalists. However, we were able to find the application on the <\/span>police website<\/span><\/a> as well as on a channel on <\/span>Eitaa<\/span><\/a>, which is a domestic messenger app. The channel is named Ya Zahra and belongs to someone named Mohammad Yousefi.<\/span><\/p>\n

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According to the information on the channel, Ya Zahra is the media arm of the Hijab Strategic Council, a semi-official body that promotes and defends the compulsory hijab law in Iran.<\/span><\/p>\n

Based on our technical analysis of the app, even though this application has been publicly accessible on Eitaa, any potential user and their device must be approved by FARAJA before use it.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Nazer app also contains a PDF manual embedded into the app, named <\/span>nazer.pdf<\/span><\/a>. According to the data extracted from the metadata of this file, this file was created on 2021:05:10 16:51:07+04:30 (Afghanistan Time Zone) on Microsoft Word by someone named Nazanin Zarezadeh.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to the information in this manual, the entire purpose of this app is to report those who are not wearing a proper hijab. However, there is no definition of proper hijab in the manual.<\/span><\/p>\n

This app depends on the operator who enters data on it. In other words, if an authorized user observes a women\u2019s hijab and deems it improper, they can enter information such as license plate number, time and date, city, vehicle model, and address. Of note, there is no facial recognition technology in the app nor is it designed to take pictures of faces. The only picture taking option in the app is taking a picture of the license plate number.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The Nazer app only works on the National Information Network (NIN), a state-controlled intranet that aims to isolate the domestic internet from the global network. The app detects if a VPN is on, and asks the user to turn it off. This shows FARAJA expects their officers to run the app on their personal devices and also suggests that the police are aware that their officers are using VPNs to bypass internet censorship and access blocked websites.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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The app also checks whether it has access to Google.com or not, to test whether the internet is available or not. This means that if Google.com is disrupted for whatever reason, such as technical issues or even internet shutdown, then the app will not work.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The Nazer app uses two APIs to perform its functions. The first API is https:\/\/nazer.police.ir\/nazer\/napi, which is used for license plate inquiry.<\/span><\/p>\n

The second API is https:\/\/api.neshan.org\/v1\/, which is used for searching addresses in the app. This API is provided by Neshan, a domestic map and navigation service that claims to be the most accurate and up-to-date map of Iran. This is a public service, and like Google Map, anyone can register and request for API.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Nazer app also has a support ticketing system, in which a user can submit a question and a support team will provide an answer. Here are some of the questions and answers that we found in the app:<\/span><\/p>\n

Q1: How do we report on motorcycles?<\/span>
\n<\/span>A1: So far we do not support motorcycles reporting.<\/span><\/p>\n

Q2: Apart from NAJA (police) personnel, do other organizations have this software?<\/span>
\n<\/span>A2: Yes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Q3: Walking dogs and noise pollution have also increased. Is it possible to register these violations?<\/span>
\n<\/span>A3: No, only hijab violations are registered.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Nazer app also has a hidden feature, that could potentially be unlocked in future updates, which would allow its authorized users to report other types of violations, such as:<\/span><\/p>\n