The Iranian government blocked Instagram and Telegram
While most people around the world are greeted by joy with the arrival of 2018, some Iranians farewell in 2017 with fury. A wave of unexpected protests swept through various cities in Iran starting on December 27, killing at least 21 people and violent conflicts in the country by the morning of January 2, leaving an unknown number of people arrested but only in the capital Tehran More than 200 people were arrested.
The Iranian government took urgent measures to block the network communications and social software Telegram and Instagram as soon as possible and dispatched all the riot police. The constantly spreading situation was brought under control.
Officials at the Supreme National Security Council in Iran claim that the decision to temporarily block Instagram and Telegram’s logins was intended to prevent the spread of allegations of violence and “keep the peace.”
According to statistics, Telegram has more than 40 million users in Iran, which is almost half of Iran’s total population. Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram, confirmed on December 31 that Iranian authorities have closed down all log-in ports. However, he did not think the Iranian authorities were founded on the idea of “maintaining peace.” He also said that Instagram was mainly used to record the protests. The Iranian government apparently did not want to disclose the extent of the protests.
Iranian authorities are blocking access to Telegram for the majority of Iranians after our public refusal to shut down https://t.co/9E4kXZYcP9 and other peacefully protesting channels.
— Pavel Durov (@durov) December 31, 2017
According to the AFP report on December 31, the Iranian government seems to want to respond to violent protests by cutting off its cellular network, leaving Tehran’s main network at least until midnight.
Several Iranian news agencies have warned that the country’s most popular social media service, Telegram, may close soon and Iran’s communications minister, Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi, accused a popular channel, Amadnews, of encouraging an armed uprising. “AFP wrote in the report.
Iranian government officials claim that these blockades are “temporary.” But well-known blog Engadget believes it’s safe to say they will continue as long as the Iranian government believes the threat posed by the protests to its regime will continue. Historically, Iran has repeatedly blocked Internet-based digital communications services like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp.
Reference: BBC
