What Should Be Known About the Possible Filtering of Instagram?

On July 3, 2018, the Deputy Attorney General of the country, Mohammad Mossadegh, announced that filtering Instagram was on the agenda, citing the reason for this action as the "exploitation of the pure feelings of the people" by "celebrities." Although this news has been denied by Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi, the Minister of Communications and Information Technology, given Iran's history of filtering various online services, which typically begins with denial of news followed by the implementation of filtering, recent reports can be seen as a prelude to filtering Instagram. Therefore, in this article, I will attempt to address various aspects of this news to provide a clear picture of what might happen. Is filtering Instagram possible? The answer to this question is yes! This means that the Iranian government can filter and block Instagram just like other websites and online services, disrupting Iranian users' access to this service; the latest example can be seen in the filtering of Telegram, although users still access Telegram through various tools after its filtering. Is it possible to block access to Instagram through VPNs? The answer to this question is definitely no, meaning that while the Iranian government can normally block access to Instagram, it cannot block it in such a way that Instagram cannot be accessed with a VPN. If one of the Iranian officials, such as the Minister of Communications, made a claim in this regard, you should know that this claim is fundamentally incorrect and lacks scientific basis. The Iranian government can only block access to Instagram through VPNs if it cuts off users' access to the global internet; a task that the Iranian government cannot do permanently and may only do for a few days. The failure of various VPNs to work in the initial days of Telegram's filtering is an example of what the Iranian government can do, although it cannot implement this permanently and continuously. Does filtering Instagram mean the end of Instagram's popularity in Iran? Although predicting is difficult and often incorrect, based on the outcome of Telegram's filtering, it can be said that the chances of Instagram's popularity among Iranian users significantly decreasing is very low, and this social network will remain popular among Iranian users whether it is filtered or not. The only likely event that will occur with the filtering of Instagram is that some users who do not know how to use VPNs will remain behind the filtering walls, although over time they will also learn the escape route. What is the end of the story of filtering various services in Iran? As a general rule, it can be said that the loser in the cat-and-mouse game of internet filtering and various services in any country, including Iran, is the censorship system, and there are dozens of historical examples in this regard. The story is no different in Iran, and what has been proven is that users ultimately find their way to access blocked platforms, whether the Iranian government wants it or not. The only way the Iranian government can completely combat individuals' access to filtered services is to permanently cut off Iranian users' access to the global internet, which is not feasible for economic and political reasons. In conclusion, it should also be noted that the loser in the game of internet censorship is the censor because methods to bypass censorship systems become easier every day.