Closure of 272 Internet Cafés in Tehran Since the Beginning of This Year

The head of Tehran's police has stated that since the beginning of the current year, out of a total of 5,200 active internet cafés in Tehran, more than 270 have been closed, and several hundred others have received closure warnings. According to ISNA news agency, Hossein Sajjadi-Nia said on Sunday, September 15, that 'during this operation, which has been implemented since the beginning of the current year, cyber police experts, along with public place supervision officers of Tehran's police, have visited internet cafés 5,280 times, resulting in the closure of 272 cafés due to owner violations, and 847 other cafés have also received closure warnings.' He specified the 'criminal instances' of such businesses, stating that 'among the crimes and violations occurring in these types of businesses, one can mention the lack of a business license, obscene and vulgar online games, and the possession of inappropriate images.' Sajjadi-Nia referred to the discovery of 8,000 CDs containing what he described as 'vulgar and obscene' content from internet cafés and added that 'necessary warnings were given to the owners of several visited businesses.' 'The use of VPNs and making them accessible to children and adolescents, allowing users to access vulgar and obscene sites, the possibility of accessing customers' passwords, the potential for hackers to access users' personal information, and the presence of inappropriate and unqualified individuals in the violating businesses to create disturbances for customers, especially women and adolescents' are among the instances that, according to the head of Tehran's police, have led to the closure or warning of internet cafés. Last year, Iran's judiciary approved a regulation requiring internet cafés to register their customers' details and retain all their information and browsing activities for six months, providing it to judicial authorities when necessary. Iran is considered one of the most restricted countries in terms of internet freedom, as Freedom House, an organization monitoring civil liberties worldwide, announced last October that a study of internet freedom in 60 countries showed Iran ranked last. Previously, some members of parliament and officials have referred to internet cafés and gaming centers as 'competitors' to the presence of youth in mosques and have called for action against internet cafés. Alongside the recent news regarding the closure of internet cafés in Tehran, IRNA news agency also reported this week on the closure and sealing of 252 gyms in Tehran and 71 event gardens in Shiraz due to 'violations.'