Dystopian Internet Restriction Project By Iran
date
Oct 20, 2022
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internet-restriction-project-by-iran
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Published
summary
Iranian government announced their new internet project. According to the project, the government will have full control over the internet in Iran. Learn more about it.
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Author
Buse Eker
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News
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Dystopian Internet Restriction Project By Iran - FastVPN
It is known that governments all over the world want to control internet activities of citizens. Especially Middle-East countries sometimes shut down the internet when country wide protests occur. But this time it is not a temporary internet restriction incident. Iranian government announced ‘Strategic Document of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Cyberspace in Horizon of 2031’ which looks like a plan of creating their own internet. We are calling it dystopian because Iranian citizens will have nothing private if the project completes successfully. The government will have full control over every inch on the internet in Iran.
So What Is This Project?How Will This Project Happen?What Are The Reasons For Coming Up With This Project?Conclusion
So What Is This Project?
According to the project document, Iran will have its own cyberspace. It looks like they are planning to create their own version of WeChat. As we know, China banned almost every app including Facebook, Instagram, Google and many more. Instead, Chinese people use WeChat for everything. The app provides everything that the citizens need. It looks like the government makes everything available to satisfy citizens' needs in one app. While simplifying people’s lives, they have full control over the internet in return. Fair enough, huh?
How Will This Project Happen?
Building a cyber wall should be a hard action plan. This might be the reason why the due date is 8 years later. Here is what will happen in these years:
- National network is going to be completed and updated: In order to access every detail, they need to build their own network. Probably this step will take most of the time.
- The basic services are provided including social messenger, search engine, operating system and data center services. The new app will replace Whatsapp, Google, and Wikipedia.
- For the people entering the virtual space, there should be rules and laws. There are no details about that right now but we can presume that they will want to match their personal ID with their digital footprint.
- The military and security agencies will be responsible for doing security monitoring and response networks. We can say that there will be a digital version of Islamic Republic Morality Police.
- New industries provide job opportunities for the citizens. Since some of the industries will shut down, the government is planning to create new job fields.
What Are The Reasons For Coming Up With This Project?
First of all, there are already successful examples. If China can do it, why not Iran cannot? When we compare the cultures of these countries, it can be said that the citizens of both countries have similar attitudes towards authorities. Besides, both countries have very strict rules and laws. So, when Iranian government releases a new law, it is always accepted by the public.
The regime hopes to create a ‘space along the reality’ of the country, which it described as “healthy, useful, safe and relying on the country’s endogenous capacity.” Rasoul Jalili, a member of the Supreme Council of Cyberspace says that “For the people entering the virtual space, there should be rules and laws. Since this is not done through real gates, such as in an airport, the immigration police have no control, therefore different regulations are required for virtual entry. Here, we must understand the problem and formulate a solution for it.”
Another goal that the regime has prepared for precise measures is ‘promoting the discourse of the Islamic revolution, expanding the strategic depth of the system and realizing the new Islamic civilization in virtual space.’
Source: https://iranfocus.com/iran-general/49033-irans-regime-continues-its-internet-restriction-project/
Conclusion
Iranian Government wants to become a cyber power of the world. They will build their own network, their own app and data center. Thus, their network will be more secure according to the project document. However, this project takes all the privacy of individuals from them. What is more, the government will have full control over all the data on the internet. They can write their own story as history or they can just remove anything that they don’t want from the internet.
We already know that Iranian government doesn’t hesitate to shut down the internet if they lose control over the public. They restricted the internet against the protests after the incident of the morality police killing of Mahsa Amini. It looks like VPN usage will increase in the future. FastVPN’s primary goal is to provide freedom on the internet to all over the world. And we are doing it very fast!
