In a significant development, Iranian authorities on Tuesday lifted a long-standing ban on Meta’s instant messaging platform WhatsApp and Google Play as a tentative step toward easing internet restrictions, state media in Iran reported.
According to AFP, the top council in charge of overseeing the internet in Iran voted to lift the ban, which has been in place for over two years. The Islamic Republic is notorious for its tight controls on access to the internet, with most U.S.-based social media platforms, like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, routinely blocked. But tech-savvy Iranians have often accessed them through virtual private networks, or VPNs.
The official IRNA news agency reported that a majority voted Sunday to allow access to the popular foreign platforms, which include WhatsApp and Google Play, in a council meeting chaired by President Masoud Pezeshkian and that includes the speaker of parliament, the head of the judiciary, and most ministers.
Sattar Hashemi, Iran’s Minister of Information and Communications Technology said: “Today the first step in removing internet limitations has been taken.” Although a decision has been taken, when these changes will take place remains unclear.
The lifting of the ban has also created heated debate inside Iran. Critics say the restrictions on the internet have been both costly and counterproductive. Presidential adviser Ali Rabiei said on X, “The restrictions have achieved nothing but anger and added costs to people’s lives.”
Meanwhile, Vice President Mohammad Javad Zarif stated that President Pezeshkian is for the lifting of these restrictions, reiterating that they are not in the interest of the people nor in the interest of security.
But not everyone has been quite so welcoming; some have sounded a note of caution. The reformist Shargh daily said 136 members of the 290-seat parliament wrote a letter to the council that warned lifting the ban would be a “gift to Iran’s enemies.” It added access to filtered platforms should be provided only if they respect Islamic society values and follow Iranian laws.
