Netblocks: "The Wall Street Journal must explain Abbas Araqchi's memo"
Netblocks, an organization that monitors global internet connectivity, demanded that the Wall Street Journal be held accountable for publishing Abbas Araqchi's memo.
Netblocks, an organization that monitors Internet access and connectivity worldwide, sent an official letter to the Wall Street Journal demanding a response and additional explanations regarding the publication of a memo by Abbas Araqchi, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic.
The organization emphasized that the publication of Iranian government officials' views in international media requires transparency, in a situation where Iranian citizens' access to the internet is widely restricted or cut off.
Alp Toker, the director of Netblocks, stated in the letter that the Wall Street Journal should clarify how the published note was submitted for publication and whether this process was done over the Internet. He also demanded that, in addition to this, it be mentioned that opponents of the Islamic Republic inside Iran have been deprived of the opportunity to express their views in the media due to internet outages and disruptions.
Alp Toker wrote in his letter to the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal: "Cases in which a government, while denying its citizens the right to express their views by cutting off communications and the ability to write, publishes its writings in a media outlet should be accompanied by two necessary explanations for the sake of transparency:
"First, the newspaper should clarify how the memo was sent; digitally, via the Internet, or in some other way? Second, it should be made clear that due to digital restrictions, there was no equal access to the platform for opponents of that government."
The netblocks have been met with positive reactions from many Iranian users on social media. Critics say that while the Islamic Republic is shutting down the internet to cover up the crackdown on protesters, the publication of Iranian officials' memos in international media without mentioning these restrictions is fueling inequality in access to the platform.
Meanwhile, Mohammad Jafar Ghaempanah, executive deputy to Masoud Pezzekian, has said on Thursday, January 22, that cutting off the internet is inevitable if the "security of the Islamic Republic is jeopardized." Statements that have once again drawn criticism from digital rights and freedom of expression activists.
