The US says it’s helping Iranians navigate a massive internet blackout. Activists say it’s too little, too late.

CNN
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Like Protesters take to the streets in Iran after Mahsa Amini’s death in custody, a 22-year-old woman was arrested for apparently not wearing a hijab properly, video by revolution began to flood the internet.

Clip of students tearing and pasting the image of the Supreme Leader of Iran in northern Iran. Image of women removing their headscarves in the Iranian capital Tehran. Videos of objector marching through the streets of the capital with their fists in the air.

The anger that poured out after Amini’s death was visible to the world.

But then it went dark when WhatsApp, Signal, Viber, Skype, and even Instagram, one of the last remaining social media apps, became usable, blocked.

Internet shutdowns are not new in Iran, often accompanied by periods of unrest and dissent. The most severe crackdown was in 2019, in which more than 100 protesters were killed and the internet was cut off for 12 days, according to Amnesty International.

Activists in Iran say the main purpose of the shutdown is to disrupt communications between the organizers of the protests on the ground and prevent dissent.

“They don’t want you to be able to communicate with your friends, with your family, with your colleagues, because simply if you’re going to create a group that basically […] you’ll be more effective the way you’re protesting,” Amir Rashidi, director of digital rights and security at human rights organization Miaan Group, told CNN.

Due to these frequent blackouts, tech-savvy Iranians have increasingly learned to rely on more advanced tools like VPNs or the Tor network as alternatives to stay connected. But even these are currently restricted by the authorities and therefore unreliable. “I have a hard time communicating with my friends because we can’t always connect to the VPN,” Ali, 22, who was renamed by CNN out of fear for her safety, told CNN via email. an encrypted ProtonMail chat.

VPN, or virtual private network, encrypts user traffic and connects it to a remote server, protecting data and operations; Tor is an open source network that allows anonymous browsing; ProtonMail is an end-to-end encrypted email service.

“This time they are not just limited to the internet,” Ali added. “They removed WhatsApp and Instagram from the local app stores, they blocked our connection to the Google Play store and the App Store so we couldn’t download any VPN or social media apps. which association? […] they do this so protesters can’t connect with each other and can’t share news on social media, high censorship starts from 4pm to 11:59pm, sometimes they I have problems even calling each other! ”

Another user, Nima, 18, whose name has been changed by CNN out of fear for her safety, told CNN that no messaging app is working in Iran right now without using a VPN,” The government is blocking VPNs right now, one by one. Our reach is being restricted every day, he said.

Compared to the complete shutdown in 2019, this outage is more targeted and complex, according to Alp Toker, international technology platform director Alp Toker, according to Alp Toker, director of international technology platform NetBlocks. NetBlocks, tracked three different methods — internet outages, mobile service disruptions, and Instagram and WhatsApp bans — that Iranian authorities used to restrict online communications.

“You have an environment where it’s very difficult for people to voice their grievances about the government in any form,” he told CNN.

However, the challenges facing Iranians come not only from their own regime but also from the international community, including governments and technology companies.

Biden administration last month its general license extension traveled to Iran to “support the free flow of information” and authorized American technology companies to give people in the country access to a number of tools to help them communicate with each other amid one of the biggest crises in the world. worst internet outage in history in Iran. On Monday, President Biden said the United States is making it easier for Iranians to access the Internet, “including by facilitating greater access to secure, external platforms and services.”

While digital activists and Iranian digital natives welcome these moves, they fear that they may not be enough to solve the problems the average Iranian people face on a daily basis. when trying to connect to the Internet.

CNN spoke with digital rights activists, technology experts and Iranian internet users who spoke out about the unintended consequences of US sanctions. Activists say waivers from tech sanctions were introduced in 2013 but did not go far. The new exemptions have been in place until September 23.

“It has been almost 10 years that Iranians have had to wait for this update in the license. Better late than never, it was a belated act by the US government. Mahsa Alimardani, senior internet researcher at Article 19, a free speech organization, said there has been a lot of harm in the interim.

The US sanctions inadvertently spurred Iran to develop an intranet, the National Information Network project, which ironically made it easier and cheaper for the Iranian government to turn off the internet without disrupting operations. government such as banks, financial systems and hospitals, Rashidi said.

These sanctions also spur tech companies to either over-comply or completely withdraw from Iran, leaving Iranians with no choice but to use government-controlled domestic servers at personal risk. higher in terms of safety, privacy and security, added Rashidi.

“What the US sanctions have done to one level is giving the government an excuse to nationalize and further isolate Iran’s internet,” Alimardani said.

Iranian internet users who spoke to CNN also shared their frustration. “I have to complain, why do tech companies […] restrict Iranians? They are directly targeting non-government people,” said Ali, who said he posted on social media “to inform people about the different ways they can connect to the internet under control. this rigorous review because I believe it is a human right”.

Not only has the Iranian government blocked the Apple Store and Google Play – making it impossible for users to access tools that could circumvent the blackout – but activists in Iran say they can’t download their own apps. themselves to distribute more widely.

CNN has reached out to Apple for comment but has not received a statement at the time of publication.

In a statement to CNN, Google said: “Google has allowed users in Iran to access free, public services related to communications and/or sharing of informational materials. This includes products like Google Search, free consumer Gmail, Google Maps, and YouTube. It is important to note that, while Google may decide to provide these services, we cannot guarantee they are accessible in Iran.”

When asked about the inability of Iranian app developers to upload their own apps to the Google Play Store, Google said the new US sanctions waivers “do not extend to accepting or storing hosting applications originating from Iran”.

Google too recently announced it will offer more of its tools, including more VPNs and location sharing across Google apps, under updated US sanctions.

However, digital activists Alimardani and Rashidi called this “low fruit”, saying that Google needs to do more. “Google Cloud Platform, Google App Engine, they are very important in terms of internet infrastructure, helping Iranian technologists right now. So that really needs to be made available,” said Alimardani.

When asked why other Google services, such as Google Classroom, Google Analytics, Google Developers, Google chat, remain inaccessible, including many accessible through the Google Play Store , the company replied: “Ongoing legal or technical barriers may block the provision of certain services, but we are investigating whether additional products may be offered. are not. ”

Alimardani and Rashidi back GitHub, a popular code hosting platform for IT developers, which was licensed by the US government last year. offer its services in Iran.

Signal, the encrypted messaging network, is also providing guidance to people in Iran and offering help to anyone who can host a proxy server and direct download.

CNN has reached out to the Iranian government for comment but had not received a response at the time of publication.

While many people in Iran are now using the Tor browser, which has seen a spike in users since the beginning of the protests, a sense of defiance is spreading among those Iranian digital native.

“We have suffered a lot from the Islamic Republic for many years. We are hurt in different ways,” said Reza, 30, whose name was changed by CNN out of concern for her safety.

“But the recent tragedy has brought us a new sadness, anger and despair that we can’t stop thinking about, and how the Islamic Republic has reacted and our future and our loved ones.

“If we don’t react and stand up to oppression, we are either a bad person or a stupid person.”