In the West, we’re much more enlightened. The government doesn’t shut down the Internet in order to silence dissent. The social media giants silence dissent on the government’s behalf.
“Iran shuts down Meta’s Instagram and WhatsApp to stop people from sharing videos of anti-morality police demonstrations,” by Sophie Mellor, Fortune, September 22, 2022:
Iranian authorities have almost completely shut off the country’s internet and restricted access to Instagram and WhatsApp after protestors flooded social media with videos of anti-government demonstrations and violent altercations with Iran’s police.
Meta’s Instagram and WhatsApp—the two last remaining social media platforms running in the country—were disrupted on multiple internet providers as anger over the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini at the hands of the morality police set off large-scale protests across the country.
London-based internet watchdog NetBlocks also reported a “nation-scale loss of connectivity” on Iran’s main mobile telephone provider and another company’s network.
The protests began last week after the country’s Guidance Patrol—the morality police in charge of overseeing the public implementation of the hijab—arrested Amini in Tehran for “unsuitable attire” and she died in custody days later. Images emerged that suggested she had been beaten, although the police claim she died of a sudden heart attack.
While Iran has some of the strictest internet controls in the world, with TikTok, YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook all blocked, the news quickly spread online with #MahsaAmini becoming one of the most repeated hashtags on Persian Twitter.
Millions of images of protestors damaging symbols of the Islamic Republic and women burning their veils and cutting their hair were posted online, prompting Iranian authorities to cut internet access and stamp down any efforts to communicate online.
Iranians can now only communicate with one another via choppy phone calls, texts without photos on WhatsApp, and blocked websites only accessible to those using virtual private networks—which 80% of Iranians have, according to RadioFreeEurope.
“Iran is now subject to the most severe internet restrictions since the November 2019 massacre,” NetBlocks said….
Walter Sieruk says
That this cruel and brutal tyrannical Islamic regime is shutting down and removing instagram videos of the vicious and violent action of iit towards the Iranian people gathering peacefully protesting for the basic human rights that are denied in that Islamic tyranny proves that it’s guilty of horrendous human rights violations
Even before Ebrahim Rasis became the President of Iran he had been and still is justifiably accused of being guilty of “crimes against humanity.”
The under the Islamic tyranny of the President of Iran Rasis, would by his callous Sharia law centered mentally be so vicious and murderous to have, this very year from January to March, have more than one hundred people put to death.
That despicable cruel and deadly character Rasis is in reality an inflictor of horrendous injustice. So much so that he has also been, rightly called the “hangman of Iran” which is a very fitting title for him.
For during the 1980’s he was the chief of that Islamic regimes” Death Committee” which was responsible for the murder of many people.
Rasis , is such a ruthless oppressive deadly fiend of a monster the the people of trapped in his Islamic tyranny live in fear because of him and other high ranking human rights violating Muslims villains in the Islamic regime.
Benjamin Franklin had explained about such awful dictators when he had printed in his periodical entitled POOR RICHARD’S ALMANAC which reads”Those who are feared are also hated.”
Walter Sieruk says
Islamic Iran shutting down instagram videos exposing the cruel violent oppression of the Iranian people who are protesting for their basic human freedom rights that this “mullah regime’ refuses to give them obviously means that this brutal oppressive Islamic tyranny has much to hide.
The many murderous evils of oppression under Iran’s President Rasis and other tyrants of that regime before him is described in a similar way in the Bible. Which reads “All the days of the oppressed are wretched.” Proverbs 15:15. [N.I.V.]
gravenimage says
Iran shuts down Instagram and WhatsApp to stop sharing of videos of anti-regime demonstrations
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Sounds like Iran is getting desperate now.
European pagan says
I know someone from Iran from an international app, yesterday I wrote her on WhatsApp and my message didn’t arrive. Not even today. I hope she can not have problem because a European sent her a WhatsApp message, in countries like Iran is everything possible.