Iranian Government Spying in Social Networking Sites

No one can deny that these days millions of Iranians rely on Facebook. The high number of Facebook users in Iran, which is estimated to be anywhere between four million and five million people, makes this a social phenomena. Young Iranians are denied the most basic freedoms even in their private lives and without social liberties,what these users reflect on their Facebook pages is in effect how they would like to live.

Iranians use social networking sites among other things for political discussion, more open posting and publication of works of art and literature, the announcement of events that cannot be publicized on domestic newspapers and to find kindred spirits or like-minded people. But is it possible for Iranians appear in any arena without Islamic Republic officials cracking down on them?

In June 2014 three Ahvazi citizens were sentenced to three years in jail for creating certain Facebook pages, membership on Facebook carried a one-year sentence. Some people are arrested for crimes against morality and public decency on Facebook. In July 2014, a Revolutionary Court sentenced eight people to 127 years imprisonment in total for being active Facebook users. In another instance the Malayer Security chief announced the sentencing of 22 Facebook users, and this is a another long story.

Ali MirAhmadi, the deputy head of Iran Cyber Police has said: “The main objective of Iran’s Cyber Police is to promote cyber security through continuous observation and monitoring of cyber space. I advise all users to comply with the laws and regulations and avoid any form of offence within cyber space because the police have complete knowledge of it.”

In most cases as soon as someone is arrested for using Facebook, the Cyber Police regards him as either a spy, prostitute, enemy abettor or guilty of crimes against morals and public decency. The offences are considered to be proven in advance.

A lawyer says that judges often have no expertise in cyber technology and adds: “Judges have no expertise in computer technology and so everything goes back to the reports from the ministry of intelligence or the Cyber Police. The judge accepts these reports as expert opinions. Therefore, it is impossible to prove otherwise.”

An IT expert says the problem is that when an Iranian enters the World Wide Web, he must follow the model of use that suits his circumstances in Iran. “In our country, the internet and social networking sites are a venue for political activity. The government views this political activity as propaganda against the regime. Therefore, cyber space is under close scrutiny by the government.” The IT specialist goes on to conclude that for this reason, internet users in Iran must maintain different security criteria for themselves when they use the internet as opposed to people outside of Iran.