WhatsApp and Google Play Filtering Lifted; Concerns Over Supreme Council of Cyberspace Plan

The Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reports that the Supreme Council of Cyberspace has voted in favor of lifting the filter on the WhatsApp messaging app and the Google Play application. This council has approved a 32-article plan that experts say could further restrict the internet in Iran. The meeting took place on Tuesday, December 25, and IRNA stated that council members, while "emphasizing the importance of regulated governance in cyberspace," voted positively to lift restrictions on certain foreign platforms, including WhatsApp and Google Play. These two applications were filtered following the "Women, Life, Freedom" protests in 2022, coinciding with a severe crackdown on demonstrators. The Islamic Republic News Agency also reported that the Supreme Council of Cyberspace, established by the order of Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, emphasized "support for domestic platforms". Meanwhile, on the eve of this meeting, the Mehr News Agency published a document indicating that according to the Supreme Council's plan, a "support package for advertising" worth 50 billion tomans is to be allocated to domestic messaging apps. The document states that the "first phase" of the council's plan will also include "building infrastructure" for domestic content platforms. The Vice President of the Industries and Mines Commission stated on Wednesday, December 26, that "we are not looking to securitize cyberspace," telling ISNA that "individual messages of users on Iranian and foreign platforms will not be read." However, Jawad Hosseini-Kia later mentioned that there should be "intelligence oversight over each Iranian user of cyberspace platforms". The "Open Technology Fund" reported on December 18 that the messaging apps approved by the Islamic Republic are "not secure," violate users' privacy, and their government-backed servers monitor users. Meanwhile, many civil and political activists have warned on social media about using WhatsApp in Iran, stating that despite the threats from security agencies in Iran, using this messaging app endangers users' security. Hossein Ronaghi, a civil activist who previously led the censorship-fighting committee known as "Iran Proxy," wrote on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter): "Deleted WhatsApp messages can be recovered; WhatsApp is not safe for use in Iran." Furthermore, the third phase of the Supreme Council's plan refers to "organizing the internet for different classes," which IT specialists say is the same as "class-based internet." The website Digiato expressed concern about the content of this plan, stating that "class-based internet will be pursued more vigorously." The website also noted that there are aspects of this plan that "will likely increase the cost of foreign traffic." Mohammad Qomi, head of the Islamic Propaganda Organization and a member of the Supreme Council of Cyberspace, confirmed the approval of the "32-article" plan shortly after. He did not provide further details about the plan, but it seems to refer to the document published by Mehr News Agency. The Deputy of Pezeshkian stated that 15 members of the Supreme Council of Cyberspace oppose lifting the filtering. The Supreme Council of Cyberspace holds its meetings behind closed doors, and the votes of its members are not transparently announced. It is also still unclear whether this plan has been fully approved by the council. The President of Iran, by law, is also the head of the Supreme Council of Cyberspace; although this position is relatively ceremonial, council members generally have equal voting rights and are mostly direct appointees of Khamenei. However, the head of the council has the power to determine the minutes and decisions. On December 10, Mohammad Jafar Qaimpanah, the Executive Deputy of the President of Iran, stated that the real members of the Supreme Council of Cyberspace oppose "lifting the filtering" and do not consider it advisable. Izatollah Zarghami, Rasoul Jalili, Saeed Reza Ameli, Hamid Shahriari, Masoud Abotalebi, Reza Taghipour, Mehdi Akhavan Bahabadi, Kamyar Taqafi, Mohammad Sarafraz, and Mohammad Hassan Entazari are 10 real members of this council who were appointed by Ali Khamenei. In addition to the heads of the three branches of government and several ministers, other officials such as the head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting Organization, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the commander of the Law Enforcement Force, and the head of the Islamic Propaganda Organization are legal members of this council, but Qaimpanah did not mention the identities of those opposing the lifting of filtering. Khamenei has repeatedly criticized the "unregulated" nature of cyberspace in Iran before and after the establishment of the Supreme Council of Cyberspace. In his Nowruz speech in 2021, he criticized the "unregulated" nature of cyberspace in Iran, stating: "We take pride in having left cyberspace unregulated! This is not a point of pride; it is by no means a point of pride... [Cyberspace] is indeed unregulated in some respects." In July 2022, he also called for action against cyberspace in a speech to judiciary officials, claiming it "destroys the psychological security of the people." As criticism of the failure to fulfill the promise of "lifting filtering" has increased, some social media users have reminded the President of his election promises, urging him to fulfill his promise to resign if he fails to deliver on his commitments. On the other hand, some IT experts and journalists, in the hours leading up to today's meeting of the Supreme Council of Cyberspace, have reminded on social media that lifting the restrictions on one or two applications does not mean fulfilling the promise of "lifting filtering." Some users have also pointed out the leaked document from the Supreme Council's plan, stating that this plan could lead to the "permanence" of internet filtering in Iran. Following the announcement of the lifting of filtering on WhatsApp and Google Play, Setar Hashemi, the Minister of Information and Technology, stated that "the first step" has been taken to lift restrictions and "this path will continue". However, Kamabiz Norouzi, a lawyer, reacted to the Supreme Council of Cyberspace's decision on his Telegram channel, stating that this decision is a "dishonest promotional tool" for the council to claim that the lifting of filtering has begun. He added: "The reality is that this council continues to insist on maintaining filtering and has prevented the lifting of filtering on the most important sites and applications." In recent years, several of the most important messaging apps or social networks, such as Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, Telegram, and Signal, have been filtered for security reasons or by judicial orders.