The regime ruling Iran has long been setting the stage to impose its draconian internet “Protection Bill,” dubbed by ordinary Iranians as the internet censorship/blackout bill. Fearing public backlash, various entities of the mullahs’ regime are passing on the “hot potato” and refusing to accept responsibility.
Jalal Rashidi Kuchi, a member of the regime’s Majlis (parliament), recently said 185 Majlis members have requested the bill to be returned from a special commission, appointed to further study the bill, back to the Majlis floor for a public discussion. Why is there such reluctance among regime officials regarding this internet “Protection Bill?”
Eight years ago, regime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said, “If I were not the leader I would have taken charge of the internet.” At the time the threat of another social outburst of nationwide protests was nothing compared to what is witnessed on the ground today across Iran.
We had yet to be witness to the latest string of uprisings in recent years that have shaken the regime to its core, including the Dec 2017/Jan 2018 and November 2019 uprisings, massive protests in the provinces of Sistan & Baluchistan and Khuzestan, and the uprising in Isfahan. These protests were immediately suppressed by the regime’s forces.
Eight years ago, we could not have imagined Iran’s teachers holding five rounds of nationwide protests and strikes in over 100 cities, while chanting “Death to the Dictator,” “Death to [regime president Ebrahim] Raisi.” And now, Khamenei is especially concerned that the truth about such a restless society will be reported to the outside world if he fails to control the internet in Iran.
A growing number of regime officials are acknowledging that “social dilemmas” are evolving into “one of the most important issues” before the ruling mullahs. One of the main reasons, as Khamenei said on March 21, 2021, is that “the internet is left uncontrolled” and the “enemy” is “taking full advantage of the internet” to “instill dissatisfaction among the public.”
It was in response to Khamenei voicing such grave concerns that the regime’s Majlis cooked up its “Protection Bill.” The Majlis Cultural Committee first introduced this bill back in July 2021, and since then it has been circulating between this committee, the Majlis Research Center, and the Majlis Presidium, each raising a large number of issues regarding the bill.
Following a long process, they introduced the internet censorship bill to the Majlis floor for an open-doors debate, leading to even further disputes. The dilemma reached a point that Majlis members agreed to establish a “special committee” to further review the bill. Now, once again, they’re intending to return the internet censorship bill back to the Majlis floor.
This process speaks volume of the impasse the mullahs’ regime is facing as officials are very concerned about toutcome of imposing sweeping censorship on the internet.
- This array of internet censorship bears the potential of sparking a new round of nationwide protests. Such a measure can be even more catastrophic for the regime than the gasoline price hike that led to the November 2019 uprising, according to regime officials.
- All of the regime’s own entities and institutions, especially those in the security apparatus, are dependent on the internet. This practice of censorship will cause significant difficulties, to say the least, for the regime’s own organs.
- As former communications minister Mohammad-Javad Azari Jahromi warned, internet censorship will actually accelerate the process of satellite internet hardware finding its way into Iran. Iran’s society cannot and will not accept such restrictions in the 21st century, and people will eventually set aside all obstacles and get their hands on the latest technologies, as seen in the regime’s failed efforts to ban satellite TV dishes that are now increasing in numbers across the country.
The mullahs’ regime ruling Iran desperately needs to shut down, or at least severely restrict, access to the internet to place roadblocks in the path of escalating social protests and uprisings. However, officials are facing the quagmire of how to respond to the consequences of imposing widespread internet censorship restrictions on Iran’s increasingly restless society.
This is why the internet “Protection Bill” is being passed around like a hot potato between various regime entities, each refusing to accept responsibility for possible adverse consequences. https://youtu.be/CI57jy5L7OI
