Minister of Communications: The Government is Not Consulted on Filtering

The Minister of Communications and Information Technology stated that the government is not consulted regarding the blocking of networks and websites. Simultaneously, the President of Iran has called for the country to become more active in cyberspace. Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi's remarks come in the wake of conflicting reports about the potential blocking of Instagram in Iran. Regarding the questions raised by members of the Islamic Consultative Assembly about filtering, he said: 'Certainly, filtering is neither the responsibility of the Ministry of Communications nor the government.' He noted that 'the government has six members in the committee that determines the criteria, and this committee has not convened for over a year, and there has been no consultation with the government regarding filtering.' The Minister of Communications, stating that 'the judicial order shows that the government is not involved in this matter,' called for transparency in the decision-making and notification process regarding the blocking of websites and social networks in Iran. Azari Jahromi said: 'We need to clarify the space, and everyone should sit in their position and respond accordingly.' According to the Minister of Communications and Information Technology of Iran, by law, 'access service providers, namely the internet companies themselves, are obliged to implement filtering based on judicial orders and the criteria determination working group.' Some filtering cases are approved by the committee determining criminal content, and sometimes the judiciary directly issues filtering orders, such as the blocking of the popular Telegram network in Iran. This committee consists of 12 members, with the Attorney General of the country as its head. In addition to six ministers and two members of parliament, the commander of the police force, the head of the Islamic Propagation Organization, the head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, and a representative from the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution are also members of this working group. Meanwhile, a member of the committee determining criminal content in Iran recently stated that this committee has not played a role or made decisions regarding filtering, and decisions about filtering certain websites and applications have been made elsewhere. This comes as Mohammad Kazemi stated that any decision-making regarding filtering should be the responsibility of this committee. Additionally, another report on Tuesday indicated that while Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, the Attorney General of Iran, recently warned that if cyberspace is not managed in the country, 'our situation will get worse day by day,' Hassan Rouhani has called for more activity in cyberspace. The President of Iran said on Monday night in a gathering of some clerics in Golestan province that 'now the means of mass communication are out of our hands, and radio and television waves do not seek our permission, and we are facing even tougher conditions in cyberspace.' He stated, 'We have very difficult conditions in spirituality and in the campaign against enemy propaganda,' and 'we must be active in cyberspace.' Mr. Rouhani also called for the use of 'new methods in advertising' and emphasized increased activity in 'cyberspace, mass media, magazines, newspapers, and Western world propaganda.' Meanwhile, some judicial officials of the Islamic Republic consider cyberspace a suitable arena for 'cultural infiltration' by the West and 'the occurrence of crimes,' constantly speaking of the necessity of 'cleaning' it.