Attorney General acknowledges Iranian government's unsuccessful attempt to control cyberspace
The Attorney General described the ongoing protests in Iran as a "cultural bloodbath" and, while attacking former government officials, said that years ago, when Ali Khamenei called for "countering cultural aggression in cyberspace," a "national intelligence network" should have been created.
Attorney General Mohammad Jafar Montazeri said on Tuesday, October 3, at the Legislative Mobilization Center: "The fact that sixteen-year-old youth are present in these days' events is due to cyberspace."
He also referred to the widespread presence of Iranian people in virtual networks for business and said: "We should have been farsighted when people's businesses were not yet in cyberspace, so that instead of using foreign programs and with the help of the thoughts and ideas of young people, we could have created a domestic network."
As the ongoing protests spread to various cities in Iran, the authorities of the Islamic Republic imposed severe restrictions on users' access to the internet.
On Tuesday, Iranian media reported that due to Instagram filtering, every Iranian store on the network suffered losses of 50 million tomans in just two weeks.
However, it does not appear that the Islamic Republic's authorities intend to take action to remove the Instagram and WhatsApp filters in the near future, and Montazeri also claimed that "classes on crime, immorality, and lewdness" are being held on WhatsApp and Instagram.
The Attorney General added, without naming names: "Today, a person who was responsible for creating this network in the past questioned internet filtering in a tweet. I wish there was a meeting and debate so that I could prove with clear evidence that he is involved in this crime."
A few days ago, Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi, the Minister of Communications in the Hassan Rouhani government, wrote on his Telegram channel about the Islamic Republic's policy to further restrict the internet: "As soon as I say something or raise a criticism, cries are raised that such and such was not done during your time or such and such a system was not established during your time."
He added: "With all the experiences you mention, I would like to say that this path of interacting with cyberspace is definitely wrong, and it is a mistake to test the experienced."
In recent years, the Islamic Republic has been extensively trying to control social networks in Iran by creating "cyber battalions" under the supervision of the Basij and the Revolutionary Guard Corps and spending a lot of money on implementing public projects, including the "national internet."
Also, the plan to further restrict the internet, known as the "Protection Plan," was placed on the parliament's agenda after Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, called cyberspace in Iran "wild and unbridled" in numerous speeches and criticized the failure of responsible institutions to restrict it.
However, before the start of the recent protests, in mid-September, the media reported that the Islamic Republic's strategic document had been communicated to relevant agencies in cyberspace for implementation.
A few days later, a member of the Islamic Consultative Assembly revealed that the plan to control and restrict the Internet in Iran had been approved by the Supreme Cyberspace Council, "bypassing" the Assembly.
Source: Radio Farda
