Closure of 160,000 'Corruption and Heresy' Internet Channels in the Past Year

The Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance announced the closure of over 160,000 'corruption channels' in cyberspace, while the IRGC in West Azerbaijan Province reported actions against 68 managers of 'modeling networks'. According to Fars News Agency, Reza Salehi Amiri, the Minister of Culture, stated on Wednesday evening, January 29, at the third conference of the Scientific Association of Communications and Propaganda of Qom Seminary that these 'heretical' and 'corrupt' channels have been closed in the past year. He added that '27 million young people exchange information on just one social network in the country,' and these channels were closed to prevent 'cultural bombardment' of the youth. The mobile social network 'Telegram' is one of the most widely used networks in Iran, and according to officials, millions of people in the country use it. Judicial and security officials have made numerous efforts to block 'Telegram' in recent years, but they have not succeeded due to government opposition. The Minister of Culture in Hassan Rouhani's government also stated that 'the government does not believe in blocking social networks but seeks to purify them.' One of the eleventh government's plans to limit Iranian users' access to certain social networks is 'smart filtering,' which some experts have questioned its effectiveness. The judiciary and the IRGC have arrested dozens of active users of these networks in recent years, despite some of these networks being filtered. In the latest arrests, as reported by 'Young Journalists Club,' the IRGC in West Azerbaijan Province has acted against 68 managers of 'vulgar and modeling social networks.' This website, affiliated with state media, reported on Thursday that the IRGC intelligence in West Azerbaijan identified and acted against 68 individuals who were 'caught in the trap of foreign elements and cultural infiltration projects.' The social networks where these individuals operated were 'Instagram' and 'Telegram,' and their fields of activity included 'modeling, women's hairdressing, photography studios, and tattooing.' According to this report, 'of these, 15 individuals were introduced to the judiciary, and 50,000 of their followers were cut off.' The arrests and actions against social media activists continue amid reports from some officials that the volume of activities and 'cyber crimes' in Iran is increasing. Mahmoud Mirfeyzi, the police commander of Mazandaran, is among these officials who reported on Thursday a 30 to 35 percent increase in 'cyber crimes' in the province. Mr. Mirfeyzi added, 'Many of the crimes that used to occur in the streets are now happening in cyberspace.' The day before, Sadegh Akbari, the head of the judiciary in Hormozgan Province, reported the arrest of '32 managers and members of Telegram channels' in the province. According to the head of the judiciary in Hormozgan, these individuals managed 78 pages, channels, and social groups. The popularity and prevalence of social networks, especially Telegram, have increased pressure from governmental and conservative institutions to filter them, while numerous arrests in the field of cyberspace have occurred in the year 1395 (2016). According to Hossein Sajedi-Nia, the head of Tehran's police, 1,200 individuals were arrested in this regard in Tehran alone in the first eight months of 1395.