Digital rights activists working outside the country to support Iran say the US government’s support for circumvention tools is valuable.
“They are certainly providing the highest level of support for the major VPNs used,” said Reza Ghazinouri, strategic advisor at United for Iran, a civil liberties and human rights group based in San Francisco. used in Iran.
But some are apprehensive about the strategies the US government has used to promote internet freedom in Iran. Amir Rashidi, director of internet security and digital rights at the Iran-focused human rights organization Miaan Group, said he was concerned about sanctions against Arvan Cloud because he was worried that the suppression of epidemic Major digital services in Iran only add to the limitations.
“Anywhere, if you go after infrastructure, even if they are controlled by the government, sanctioning an electricity company or a gas company, it won’t help,” Rashidi said. anyone. “If you sanction the internet infrastructure, you’re just making the Iranian government’s job a lot easier.
Rashidi also noted that while he is not surprised that a company like Arvan has close ties to the Iranian regime, he does expect the US government to provide more detailed evidence as to why they only chose this technology company to be sanctioned over any other company in Iran. . He pointed out that Arvan appears to be the only Iranian technology company to publish a annual transparency report in any way—even if it’s usually not particularly illuminated.
In July 2021, Arvan also publicly joined other Iranian tech companies and digital rights activists in the country. oppose restrictive laws the regime is promoting under the guise of a “user protection” bill. And on Tuesday, the company’s CEO, Pouya Pirhosseinloo, one of the executives named in the US Treasury Department sanctions on Friday, publish an essay calls for the expansion of internet freedom in Iran.
Pirhosseinloo wrote that Iran should focus on “removing widespread internet disruption and filtering” as well as “removing any kind of disruption and restriction on internet protocols in the name of VPN handling.” . And he concluded by calling for a drastic reform of Iran’s approach to internet freedom.
“We should accept that Iran should be brought out of global isolation, sanctions and hopefully restore the body of Iranian society by lifting internal sanctions,” Pirhosseinloo wrote. set. “Such a road will not begin until life is restored through the freedom of the Internet and the removal of its pervasive disturbances and restrictions. Let’s go back to the roots of the digital economy. digital.”
Iran’s digital landscape is complex, and efforts to influence the Iranian regime are never straightforward.
“I’m not saying these people are great, but they are outspoken against the Iranian government’s plans,” Rashidi said. “It is possible that the US government has information that I do not, but I would like to see more evidence to support that claim.”
