Ongoing Dispute Over 'Filtering'; Government Official: It Is Ineffective and a 'Waste of Money'

Ali Rabiei, social assistant to Masoud Pezeshkian, the President of the Islamic Republic, reacted to the opposition of some members of the Supreme Council of Cyberspace to lifting the filtering, stating, "Is there really anything today that can be filtered?" Rabiei referred to the resistance of these individuals against the President's decision and the people's demands, questioning their thoughts. He added, "Our society is in a difficult situation, and we can show that we have heard the people's voice with simple decisions such as lifting the filtering." This government official acknowledged that in a meeting with students and various groups, he could not provide a convincing answer about the positive impacts of filtering and the 'Protection Plan.' According to him, students discussed technologies that would not require VPNs in the future and added, "Why do we wait until the last moment for everything, until laws and policies have no effect on it, and then we say we have surrendered and have no way out?" Rabiei also pointed to the economic costs of filtering, given inflation and the government's inability to provide subsidies, stating that "each family spends an average of 500,000 tomans monthly on VPNs, which is equivalent to the subsidy for a three-person family. This issue is not even justifiable economically." The plan known as 'Protection' has been designed by the Iranian government to limit internet access and has been under review in Parliament for years. Although this plan has not yet become law, it has been practically implemented by responsible authorities in recent years. The implementation of this plan has led to numerous controversies and widespread protests from internet users. Previously, Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, despite the continued intensification of policies restricting internet use, which has made Iran one of the most restrictive countries for internet access globally, called for 'control of cyberspace,' claiming that there should be 'lawful governance' in cyberspace. Khamenei's remarks came at a time when the Islamic Republic is one of the governments in the world that has imposed the most restrictions on citizens' internet use. The Islamic Republic has filtered American social networks such as 'Facebook, X, and YouTube,' but Iranian users typically access these platforms using VPNs. X suspended Ali Khamenei's account in Italian. Iran; one of the countries restricting the internet in the world; Khamenei called for 'control of cyberspace.' The new Minister of Communications claims that internet restrictions are not the policy of the Ministry of Communications; the filter ban is an evasion.