Iran's Prosecutor: If Cyber Space is Not Managed, Our Situation Will Worsen

The Attorney General of Iran urged artists to adhere to "red lines and divine limits" and warned that if the cyber space in the country is not managed, "our situation will worsen day by day." Mohammad Jafar Montazeri made these remarks following comments by his deputy, Javad Javidnia, who announced a judicial order for filtering Instagram. Javidnia stated that "Instagram has a lot of illegal and unethical content" and that they are waiting for a resolution regarding this network. Some Hezbollah activists on Twitter have also called on the judiciary to address the issue after a live video surfaced showing a young girl being beaten by an Instagram user in Sirjan, as well as images of several Iranian artists and ordinary citizens on the platform dressed in what they deemed inappropriate attire. Montazeri referred to the incident involving the girl known as the Sirjani girl, stating that "cyber space is a platform for certain crimes" and "if we do not manage cyber space, our situation will worsen day by day." He emphasized the need to utilize modern technology but questioned whether proper management of cyber space should not be a priority in the Islamic Republic. The Attorney General added, "No country allows its cyber space to be unregulated, and filtering certain networks and channels does not mean ignoring the good and valuable aspects of cyber space; what drives us to issue judicial orders in some cases are the harms that affect society." According to this judicial official, since "military warfare and enemy plots have faced repeated failures, they have focused on cultural infiltration and have employed all tools in this regard." He expressed regret that the tools and capabilities that could be used against the "cultural infiltration of the enemy" are not present in Iran as they should be. The Attorney General further compared confronting an enemy with missiles by equipping oneself with missiles to the necessity of using appropriate tools in cultural confrontation with the "enemy" and criticized those who accuse the judiciary in this context. He stated, "Whenever we discuss managing cyber space and filtering certain areas that bring nothing but harm, some media and various sectors accuse us of not wanting to utilize this space, which is a misunderstanding." Montazeri stated that the judiciary seeks to "purify" cyber space, adding, "We should not allow crimes to occur in cultural institutions that we have to confront" and that "the judiciary primarily tries to resolve cultural issues through interaction." The Attorney General also called on artists to respect the "red lines and divine limits" without providing details and warned that if anyone seeks to "make a mockery of Islamic sanctities and does not heed warnings, it is the duty of the judiciary to take action." Following the blocking of Facebook and Telegram in Iran, Instagram, along with Twitter, has gained special popularity, with many users, including artists from various artistic fields, active on this platform. Abolhassan Firouzabadi, the Secretary of the Supreme Council of Cyberspace of Iran, threatened in September of this year that if Instagram does not "cooperate with the Islamic Republic, it will face the same fate as Telegram." He did not provide further details regarding the "cooperation" sought by the Islamic Republic.