Iran tightens grip on internet freedom

More than two years after a weeklong total shutdown of the internet in Iran, Iran’s parliament, known as the Majlis, has now said that it will send the Protection Bill, known in Persian as the Tarh-e Sianat, to the Guardian Council by February 20, paving the way for the imposition of more restrictions than ever before on the internet in Iran.

While details of the latest version of the Protection Bill are not transparent, lots of internet users, political figures and existing startups in Iran, as well as internet freedom activists and international organizations, have raised the alarm based on the content of a draft version of the bill that was released last year.

Iranian authorities are weighing the idea of a national internet, which seems to rely on the idea of denying users access to international search engines, news websites and email servers, and instead offering them replacements developed and controlled by the Islamic Republic of Iran.

There is concern that Iran, with help from China, may follow the Chinese model of the internet and further isolate Iranians from the rest of the world.