 "WhatsApp logo is seen in this illustration taken, on August 22, 2022. Reuters File")
In a first step to scale back internet restrictions, Iranian authorities have lifted a ban on Meta’s instant messaging platform WhatsApp and Google Play, Iranian state media reported on Tuesday.
According to AFP, Iran’s top council responsible for safeguarding the internet voted Tuesday to lift the ban, which has been subject to restrictions for over two years.
The Islamic Republic has some of the strictest controls on Internet access in the world, but its blocks on US-based social media such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are routinely bypassed by tech-savvy Iranians using virtual private networks.
“A positive majority vote has been reached to lift limitations on access to some popular foreign platforms such as WhatsApp and Google Play,” AFP quoted Iran’s official IRNA news agency as saying on Tuesday, referring to a council meeting on the matter headed by President Masoud Pezeshkian.
The council is headed by the president and its members include the parliament speaker, the head of the judiciary and several ministers.
“Today the first step in removing internet limitations… has been taken,” IRNA cited Iran’s Minister of Information and Communications Technology Sattar Hashemi as saying.
Social media platforms were widely used in anti-government protests in Iran.
It was not immediately clear when the decision would come into force.
The move has sparked a debate in Iran, with critics of the restrictions arguing the controls were costly for the country.
Impact Shorts
More Shorts“The restrictions have achieved nothing but anger and added costs to people’s lives,” presidential adviser Ali Rabiei said on X Tuesday.
“President Masoud Pezeshkian believes in removing restrictions and does not consider the bans to be in the interest of the people and the country. All experts also believe that this issue is not beneficial to the country’s security,” Vice President Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Tuesday.
Others, however, warned against lifting the restrictions.
The reformist Shargh daily on Tuesday reported that 136 lawmakers in the 290-member parliament sent a letter to the council saying the move would be a “gift to (Iran’s) enemies”.
The lawmakers called for allowing access to restricted online platforms only “if they are committed to the values of Islamic society and comply with the laws of” Iran.
With inputs from agencies