Serious warning about the future of Iran's digital economy: The risk of destroying hundreds of thousands of businesses

The "Internet Business Association" warned in an open letter to the relevant authorities, including the Minister of Communications, about the devastating consequences of the recent disruptions to the country's internet network. According to Radio Farda, the association emphasized that the restrictions imposed and the reduction in internet quality have caused irreparable damage to Iran's digital economy and called for an immediate halt to this process.

According to the association's estimates, every hour of internet outage costs the country's economy $1.5 million. This is while the livelihoods of millions of Iranians depend on more than 400,000 small and medium-sized businesses that are now on the verge of bankruptcy and complete destruction due to these disruptions.

The letter cites a number of technical issues, including “DNS manipulation, intentional throttling, and protocol filtering,” that have disrupted connectivity to the global internet, which the association says has led to a wave of layoffs, investment freezes, and the bankruptcy of startups.

Government officials have cited security concerns and countering Israel's intelligence exploitation of foreign messengers as the reason for these restrictions. This claim comes at a time when experts and even some internal sources, such as the daughter of one of the slain commanders, have rejected it, saying the tracking capabilities go far beyond messaging apps like WhatsApp.

In its thesis, the Internet Business Association warned of the collapse of public trust, increased emigration of elites, and the death of the country's startup ecosystem, calling on officials to quickly end all forms of declining internet quality and restore conditions for online businesses to normal. This is despite the fact that Iran has previously ranked low in global indices of internet freedom and speed.