The internet can be considered one of the biggest challenges for the Iranian government in the past two decades, and during this time, each government has pursued its own specific policies to control it. This article provides an overview of the history of the internet and the policies of three administrations: those of Mohammad Khatami, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and Hassan Rouhani, to give individuals who may not be familiar with the history of internet censorship in Iran a general idea of what has occurred over the past 20 years.
Khatami's Government: The Start of Internet Censorship in Iran Khatami's administration can be seen as the one in which the internet became accessible to the public, allowing individuals to purchase internet connection cards at a low cost. With the popularization of internet usage during Khatami's time, the golden age of Persian blogging began, where thousands of people, including myself, who had no platform to express their views, created simple blogs to share their opinions.
With the popularity of blogging during Khatami's era and the lack of control over the content published on the internet, the Iranian government and Khatami's administration began to think about managing the produced content and access to such content. Thus, Khatami's government initiated the first steps towards internet censorship and filtering, leading to the blocking of various blogs that contained critical content about the country's situation.
It is important to note that contrary to what many believe, Khatami was not opposed to internet censorship in the country. For example, in an interview, he announced that all political websites were free, while many blogs and political websites were blocked at that time, including my own blog. Additionally, during Khatami's administration, for the first time, individuals were arrested for their online activities, which caused a significant uproar at the time.
Ahmadinejad's Government: Widespread Internet Suppression Ahmadinejad's administration can be considered the peak of internet suppression and online freedoms. For instance, during Ahmadinejad's government and the protests following the 2009 presidential elections, Iran completely cut off internet access for the first time.
Moreover, during Ahmadinejad's administration, the concept of a national internet—now referred to as the "National Information Network (Shoma)"—began to take shape, and ideas such as a national operating system, national antivirus, and Islamic Google Maps were also considered. It is important to note that contrary to popular belief, Ahmadinejad's government never fully implemented this idea, and Rouhani's administration brought "Shoma" from the idea and study phase to execution.
Ultimately, Ahmadinejad's government was the one that initiated the filtering of social networks like Facebook and Twitter; although this censorship now seems ridiculous, as Mahmoud Ahmadinejad currently has a verified account on Twitter!
Rouhani's Government: Changing Internet User Behavior in Iran Rouhani's administration can be seen as having acted more intelligently regarding internet control and internet users compared to previous governments. For example, the internet tariffs in the country indicate that users must pay double to access websites hosted outside Iran (such as Telegram, Google, etc.) compared to those hosted within the country (like Aparat, Varzesh3, etc.).
Such pricing structures can fundamentally change the behavior and understanding of internet users in Iran in the long term, so that in the near future, internet users may consider Iranian websites like Aparat, Digikala, etc., as the internet, having no concept of useful websites like Wikipedia.
In addition to the intelligent management of user behavior during Rouhani's administration—which I believe is the most dangerous action of all recent governments in the cyber space—there has also been a general increase in internet usage on mobile devices (3G and 4G), allowing access to the internet to reach the working class and low-income individuals as well.
With the launch of 3G and 4G, the filtering policy during Rouhani's administration also changed, and with the popularity of mobile phones, the censorship of various websites was largely set aside, focusing instead on managing and censoring mobile applications. For example, one can refer to the filtering of communication applications like WeChat, Viber, and most recently Telegram.
Finally, it should be noted that the implementation of "Shoma" during Rouhani's administration allows the Rouhani government and subsequent administrations to cut off global internet access during critical times, such as nationwide protests, without disrupting internal communication systems.
It is evident that in Iran, with the change of government, the overall policies of internet censorship have not changed, although the methods of implementation have changed; for instance, during Ahmadinejad's administration, internet suppression was carried out with an iron fist, while during Rouhani's administration, censorship is applied indirectly through plans like offering free internet for using domestic services.