Iran-China 25 year deal and the internet

It has been a busy few weeks as one year ends and another starts. A few days ago the Islamic Republic and China signed a 25 year agreement between the two countries and people are not happy. There has been protests in Tehran and people speaking out on Twitter - even without the full release of the agreement!

But one thing that has been said is that the new agreement includes sections about the internet. China has the best firewall in the world and now they will be helping Iran do the same. The agreement is said to include provisions over the development of 5g, remote communication and end-user equipment. But most concerning is the agreement to work together on strengthening national internet infrastructure.

As the people of Iran move towards freedom, the Islamic Republic is determined to drag them back. And now with China backing them, the Islamic Republic has a greater chance of success than ever. However I am hopeful that people will stand up against this censorship - people already are but they must continue. Free and unfiltered access to the internet is a right that the Iranian people deserve. It should not be washed away by this agreement.

Ayatollah Khamenei New Year Message

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei gave his Norwuz speech last weekend where he talked about the internet. Surprisingly he said that Iranian's should use cyberspace...followed by a warning not to be influenced by the enemy. Presumably this must mean America and the West.

And why did he speak of this? Khamenei appears scared about how the internet could effect this years elections in the Iran. He warns people not to fall victim to the enemies intentions to influence the election. This is ironic as it comes only days after America published a report saying that Iran interfered in their elections in November! So the Islamic Republic is allowed to interfere with others elections but nobody must interfere with theirs?! 

No state should try and influence another's election, however Khamenei should be scared not just for this reason. It is not only fake information that can influence an election, but also access to unfiltered influence. Supreme Leader...not everything that criticizes the Islamic Republic is fake!

Iran's Minister of Communications, Mr Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi, disagrees with the Supreme Leader. What a breath of fresh air! It is reported that he doesn't believe in filtering the internet, as this causes a bigger gap between generations. Young people are much more cyber aware than their parents and grandparents as they have to be imaginative to get around the cyber censorship in Iran, either using Tor or a VPN. 

If this gap continues to widen then I wonder what will happen in the next ten years? Will a cyber revolution occur and overthrow the Islamic Republic? I do not know, but I hope than in years to come more and more people in Iran will have uncensored access to the internet. Cyberspace is not something you can control with harsh words and politics.

And finally, Mr Khamenei, if you distrust the internet so much, why do you have Twitter when it is banned in the Islamic Republic? 

Iranian Internet Censorship

Last month I saw reports that the Iranian regime had begun to cut off mobile internet access in Sistan and Baluchestan after reports of riots in the area. The government wanted to restrict the internet to conceal its violent reaction to the riots where many people perished.

This is not the first time that Iran has done this. In fact it is well documented! The Iranian regime has consistently used internet blocks to stop ordinary Iranians from speaking out about the governments actions. But what does this really achieve? The people simply wait for the internet to return to post about what has happened.

Most famous was the 1398 shut down that lasted for a week and saw many many people killed. The shut down last month only lasted for a few days, but it is clear that the government is getting used to using this tactic to stop protestors. Have they forgotten that their authority was built on the back of protestors? 

On this Charshanbe Suri I wish for greater freedom for the Iranian people and look forward to a new year with less censorship and oppression from the Islamic Republic!