Iran: Country's Supreme Council lifts ban on WhatsApp and Instagram after two years of suspension

The Islamic Republic of Iran, which had suspended the social networks Instagram and WhatsApp, lifted this ban by a vote on Tuesday, December 24, 2024. This blockage followed the demonstrations that took place in 2022, after the death of student Mahsa Amini, during her detention.

Iran’s Supreme Cyberspace Council, the body in charge of regulating the country’s internet and cyberspace, voted on Tuesday to lift a ban on the WhatsApp messaging app that has been in place for more than two years.

“The ban on WhatsApp and Google Play was lifted by a unanimous vote of members of the Supreme Cyberspace Council,”, the official IRNA news agency reported. “This is the first step in a plan to lift restrictions,”, the agency said.

Communications Minister Sattar Hashemi hailed the ban on the X network as a “first step toward lifting restrictions on the internet with […] consensus.” Iran blocked Instagram and WhatsApp after protests sparked in 2022 by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a young woman arrested for violating the Islamic Republic’s strict dress code. They were the most used apps since YouTube, Facebook, Telegram, Twitter and TikTok were banned.

“The restrictions have achieved nothing”

The bans have fueled controversy in Iran, with critics arguing that they are costly for the country. “The restrictions have brought nothing but anger and additional costs to citizens,”, a presidential adviser, Ali Rabiei, said Tuesday on X.

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“President Massoud Pezeshkian believes in removing restrictions and does not consider the bans to be in the interest of the people and the country”, said Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Iranian vice-president in charge of strategic affairs.

Respect for Islamic “values”

Others, however, have expressed reservations about lifting the restrictions. The reformist daily Shargh reported on Tuesday that 136 of the 290 members of parliament had sent a letter to the Council to denounce this measure, a “gift to the enemies” of Iran.

According to the newspaper, the deputies demanded that access to the restricted online platforms be authorized only “if they are attached to the values ​​of Islamic society and respect the laws of Iran.”

President Massoud Pezeshkian, who took office in July, campaigned on a pledge to ease long-standing restrictions on internet use. In March, an Iranian minister announced that the government would allow international platforms to operate in the country if they agreed to open representative offices.

Using private networks

Meta, the American giant that owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, responded that it had no plans to set up in Iran, which is subject to a harsh US sanctions regime. Faced with internet restrictions, many Iranians have taken to using virtual private networks (VPNs) to circumvent restrictions.

Other popular platforms, such as Facebook, X, and YouTube, have remained blocked since 2009, and the instant messaging app Telegram was banned by a court order in April 2018. In an attempt to replace foreign services, Iran has developed its own apps over the years.

For browsing, users have “Neshan” and “Balad”, while for carpooling, they can turn to “Snapp!” or “Tapsi”. In terms of messaging, local applications such as “Bale”, “Ita”, “Rubika” and “Soroush” have emerged, which also offer calling features.