Iranians manage to surf web despite tide of censorship
TEHRAN, IRAN — Before Nazilla Akbari can check out the latest offerings on Twitter or YouTube, she scrolls through an array of icons on her smartphone, searching for the right workaround to bypass state censors.
It’s a cat-and-mouse game that has become second nature in Iran, where the clerically-led government restricts access to popular social media sites and where U.S. sanctions create other barriers.
“Every day I struggle for 40 minutes just to get connected to uncensored inter- net,” Akbari, a 30-year-old software developer, told The Associated Press. “Even after I do, the internet is so slow that I have difficulty even watching a short video.”
Iranian authorities have sought to limit Western cultural influence since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. They began blocking popular sites like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube when activists used them to organize mass protests and document a crack- down after a disputed election in 2009.
That hasn’t stopped Irani- ans from accessing such sites through virtual private networks, or VPNs, and other services. It also hasn’t prevented a number of top Iranian officials from using the sites to broadcast the offi- cial line. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif frequently tweets in English, and accounts believed to be run by the offices of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khame- nei and President Hassan Rouhani regularly post on their behalf.
Khamenei himself has urged the nation’s youth to “smartly use the cyber- space to slap the enemy in the mouth,” and pro-government accounts have prolif- oped their own closed syserated on Twitter and Instem, known as the “national tagram. information network,” that
Rouhani, a relative modblocks many foreign sites erate in Iran’s clerical estaband slows access to others. lishment, vowed to expand Some refer to it as the “halal internet freedom when he net,” applying the term used was elected in 2013 but has for that which is permitted failed to fully deliver on those under Islam. Officials say it is promises, in part because the designed to protect the counjudiciary and security forces try from cyberattacks and are dominated by hard-linU.S. sanctions. Iran is also ers. In 2018, authorities developing its own services blocked Telegram, an app for messaging, online bankthat had been used by tens of ing and entertainment, part millions of Iranians to send of a larger push for self-sufencrypted messages, after it ficiency amid Western sancwas used to organize protests tions. over economic hardships. The government has taken
YouTube also remains steps to expand access and largely off-limits, as it’s hard widen bandwidths, with Routo download and view vid- hani claiming earlier this eos while using the work- month that all towns and arounds. “YouTube is like 78% of villages have access an online university, but it’s to high-speed internet. But blocked,” Akbari said. many Iranians say surfing
Hard-liners fear that full the web remains a disapaccess to the internet would pointing experience. allow Western countries to “The number of users has penetrate the Islamic Repub- grown at a much faster rate lic and foment unrest against than the speed of the counthe ruling clerics. try’s internet,” said Danial
“Cyberspace is controlled Behzadi, an information by foreigners,” said Ayatollah technology expert. “In genMohammad Ali Movahhedi eral, the internet in Iran is Kermani, a hard-line cleric relatively slow.” who leads Friday prayers in The sanctions have also Tehran. “They want to make created barriers, with the the people pessimistic.” U.S. government barring
Authorities have devel- many tech firms.