Deliberate Internet Paralysis and Complete Shutdown in Iran; A New Tactic for Cost-Free Global Censorship

Following the intensification of nationwide protests in Iran, data from the infrastructure company Cloudflare shows that just before 12:00 PM UTC (3:30 PM Iran time), the amount of announced IPv4 address space in Iran decreased by nearly 98.5 percent. Simultaneously, the share of IPv6 traffic plummeted from about 12 percent to less than 2 percent; a clear sign of targeted interference in the country's international internet flow. Although conventional indicators of internet outages in global monitoring systems, including tools from major online traffic oversight companies, have reported Iran's status as 'normal,' the ground reality for users is entirely different. Since Wednesday evening, a large portion of home and mobile subscribers in various cities have effectively been disconnected from global internet access, having only limited access to government services and websites hosted within the country. In simple terms, the government has manipulated the layers of the national information network infrastructure, blocking or severely slowing users' access to foreign servers. This method allows internal traffic to appear active in global charts, and the internet 'officially' does not report as being cut off; while in practice, Iran has become an isolated digital island. However, the disruption of IPv4 and IPv6 functionality, at the time of writing this article, can be considered beyond deliberate paralysis, and even a complete disconnection of Iran from the global internet. Additionally, at the time of writing this article, the company NetBlocks, another global internet flow monitor, confirmed that 'as protests spread across the country on their twelfth day, connection to Iran's main internet network, namely the Telecommunications Company of Iran, has been cut off in the unrest-stricken city of Kermanshah; this incident occurs as casualties are rising and signs of disruption are evident in several regions.' On the twelfth day of popular protests that have spread across the country within a week, civil activists have reported that the aim of these restrictions is to prevent the dissemination of information and street coordination among protesters. The Islamic Republic is attempting to avoid the legal and international consequences of a complete internet shutdown, which had faced global backlash in previous years, by using this new method. Amir Rashidi: There is a 'discipline' and 'precision' in internet shutdowns compared to the Raisi administration. Washington's criticism of the 'offensive' subsidy and widespread internet cuts coinciding with the nationwide uprising. Government internet without filters in Iran; a journalist warns about 'information monitoring' of white SIM cards. Revisiting a crackdown; internet shutdown in Iran coinciding with nationwide protests following the death of Mahsa Amini.