Iran is developing limited connectivity for approved individuals and entities while continuing a state-imposed internet shutdown. A new entity, the Specialised Headquarters for Organising and Guiding Iran's Cyberspace, has been created to review internet coverage and coordinate policies across multiple bodies. First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref is tasked with institutional cohesion, preventing parallel work, and reducing multiple voices in cyberspace management. A roadmap is expected to overhaul cyberspace governance and review the efficiency of the Supreme Council of Cyberspace and the National Cyberspace Center. The council, established in 2012, has led restrictions on internet access based on security considerations. The changes come after near-total blackouts affecting tens of millions, with prior outages during protests.
"Iran is looking at ways of providing limited connectivity to approved individuals and entities amid a continued state-imposed internet shutdown, with a tiered access model currently being offered that experts have said still undermines the digital rights of Iranians."
"President Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday announced the creation of a new entity to review internet coverage in the country named the Specialised Headquarters for Organising and Guiding Iran's Cyberspace, with First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref, a relative moderate, appointed as its head."
"Pezeshkian said he expects the 74-year-old vice president to create institutional cohesion and align policies and measures by relevant bodies and prevent parallel work and end multiple voices in the management of the country's cyberspace, referring to the multiple bodies overseeing communications in Iran."
"The council, which Pezeshkian has now said he wants to reform, is a powerful state body established by slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in 2012 to govern the internet landscape in Iran. The council, and its current secretary, Mohammad Amin Aghamiri, have led the charge in heavily restricting Iranians' access to the internet based on security considerations."
#internet-shutdowns #cyberspace-governance #iranian-digital-rights #tiered-access #national-security
Read at www.aljazeera.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]