Iranian Government Blocks Instagram And WhatsApp Countrywide

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The world has gone mad. There are wars everywhere. We are not even talking about demonstrations in every corner of the globe. People want more. The governments don’t allow it. Everything turned upside down. The demonstrations in Iran are the best proof of the words above. Everything began on September 16, when a 22-year-old “violated” the local strict dress code for women. After that, police shoot her down. The case with Mahsa Amini made Iranians go outside. It’s already been a week or so since there are demonstrations across the country. Today, we learned that the Iranian government had blocked access to Instagram and WhatsApp. This is a necessary step to subdue protests.

Iranian Government Restricts Web Access And Communication

Recently, Reuters reported that the Iranian government had gradually restricted access to various web platforms in the country. For instance, on September 19, they extended restrictions to parts of the western Kurdistan province. On Wednesday, Iran completely restricted access to WhatsApp and Instagram. All regions in the country can’t use these apps at the moment. A few residents from various parts of Iran, including Tehran, said they have limited communication capabilities. They can only send text messages but not pictures on WhatsApp. At the same time, Instagram is completely blocked.

NetBlocks reports that these are the most severe restrictions since 2019. If you remember, in that year, there were mass protests against the increased fuel prices. In that year, Iran restricted access to many web sources.

Photo Credit: BBC

Iran thinks such actions will significantly limit the communication abilities of the protestors. Thus, this could become an effective measure to reduce the organization of protests. NetBlocks also said there is a “nation-scale loss of connectivity.” The Iranian carriers haven’t commented on this yet. But this sounds quite logical. At least, we know that technology has a double effect. It can help to unite people, and it can cause disobedience.