UN Human Rights Experts to Parliament: Abandon the ‘Safeguarding’ Bill
UN human rights experts have called on the Islamic Republic to abandon a restrictive internet bill through the release of a statement. They wrote that during the nationwide protests in November 2019, the government’s efforts to control the online space led to a complete internet shutdown. This facilitated human rights violations, including increased violence by security forces against protesters, which resulted in the deaths of hundreds.
According to Hrana news agency, the news outlet of a collection of human rights activists in Iran, UN human rights experts have called on the Islamic Republic to abandon its efforts to pass a new law that effectively isolates the country from the global internet.
The Iranian parliament may soon pass the “Bill on the System of Regulating Virtual Space Regulations,” which is more commonly referred to as the “Bill on Safeguarding Users in Virtual Space.”
UN human rights experts have expressed concerns about restricting freedom of expression through the implementation of this bill, and in their statement wrote: In November 2019, the government’s efforts to control the online space led to a complete internet shutdown in Iran for one week during nationwide protests. At that time, UN experts raised the concern that information blackouts following the shutdown facilitated human rights violations, including excessive use of force by security forces against protesters, which resulted in the deaths of hundreds. Blackouts and disruptions to internet services have continued since that time, particularly in connection with protests.
The experts said: “We have previously raised our concerns about this bill so that we could engage in dialogue with the authorities on this matter. We regret that our letter has not been answered and our recommendations regarding this bill have not been given consideration.”
The experts emphasized that this bill not only restricts information but also disrupts business activities and has negative impacts on sectors dependent on information technology, including science, education, and medicine.
UN human rights experts, noting that this bill, which was initially proposed in 2018, have stated that the bill would likely block all remaining websites and platforms operated by foreign companies that are still active in Iran. It would also require social media platforms to cooperate with the government in monitoring and censorship.
These experts also said that if this bill is passed, technology companies will be forced to comply with government directives or face bandwidth restrictions and blockage.
Source: Hrana
