Iran plans to permanently cut itself off from the global internet, allowing access only to individuals vetted by the regime, while everyone else will use the national, isolated internet. The plan, according to Iranian digital rights activists, is part of a long-standing effort by the regime to tighten control over the network, including sophisticated filters and access for select users.
Under the plan, Iranians who have a security clearance or have passed government checks will have access to a filtered version of the global Internet, said Amir Rashidi, head of Filterwatch. All other Iranians will only be able to access the national internet: a domestic, parallel network cut off from the wider world.
The current internet blackout in Iran began on January 8 after 12 days of increasingly violent protests against the regime. Thousands of people have died, although the demonstrations appear to have slowed due to the brutal suppression of the protests.
Due to the blackout, information from the country is only limited. This internet outage is one of the worst in history, longer than even Egypt’s 2011 internet outage during the Tahrir Square protests. A government official told Iranian media that the international internet would be shut down at least until Nowruz, the Persian New Year, on March 20.
A former US State Department official, who has worked on internet censorship issues, said the idea of Iran permanently cutting off access to the global internet is “plausible and terrifying”, but also expensive.
– It is not excluded that they will do it, but the economic and cultural impact will be enormous. It is possible that they will overestimate their capabilities – he emphasized.
This strategy, although technologically advanced, carries great economic and cultural consequences, and the digital community warns of serious damage to Iranians and their economy, reports The Guardian.
(Vijesti.ba)
