Iran's Internet Shutdown Is Killing Its Economy and Deleting Evidence

In response to widespread government opposition and protests, the Iranian authorities imposed a nationwide shutdown in September, severely restricting digital communication in the country. In addition, the government has initiated continuing campaigns to limit the internet and access to popular services such as Instagram.

Iran Blocks Internet

On Sept. 13, Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman, was arrested and allegedly killed by the Tehran "morality police," an organization that imposes a strict dress code on female citizens. Amini's death sparked the demonstrations spreading in key cities.

In response, large-scale protests are taking place in Tehran and other cities. As a strong show of protest against recent tragedies, many women have cut their hair short and burned their hijabs in public.

As reported by the BBC, most rallies and campaigns are planned by people using social media, and mobilization becomes considerably more difficult if they cannot connect. New assessments by the US Department of State show that these disruptions are starting to show the real economic cost of this brutal method.

History of Censorship

Repressive regimes are extremely predictable when it comes to dealing with protests and other kinds of dissent. They will utilize strict restrictions and a show of power to ensure that no more civilians join movements, as too many may destabilize them.

This is what the Iranian regime is doing right now, with Internet outages and violent protests in Tehran. However, it turns out that the dictatorship takes the same method every time the country is embroiled in a controversy.

Iran is already a severely sanctioned and isolated country, as reported by Wired, but the government has repeatedly imposed wide internet restrictions and shutdowns, including major measures in 2017 and 2019. These crackdowns have harmed the rights of over 80 million Iranians and triggered concerns in many sectors of Iranian society, including commerce.

According to Reza Ghazinouri, a strategic adviser for the San Francisco-based human rights and civil liberties group United for Iran, the shutdowns have contributed to the millions of Iranians who have fallen below the poverty line in recent years. Sixty-four percent of Iranian businesses on Instagram are owned by women, who are particularly affected by the disruptions to access and communication on the platform.

Effects to Economy

Businesses rely on digital platforms in a variety of ways, from connecting with consumers to processing transactions, yet digital disruptions affect businesses of all sizes.

Several Iranian trade organizations have reported significant losses among their members. According to some sources, the recent outage even impacted hundreds of thousands of small enterprises.

The impact of the internet shutdowns on human rights in Iran has also been significant. The United Nations General Assembly has condemned the "severe restrictions on the human rights of the people of Iran," including internet shutdowns to suppress Freedom of expression and the right to peaceful assembly.

The shutdowns have made it more difficult for people to communicate with one another and the outside world and have disrupted access to information and services, including education and healthcare.

As per Amnesty International, Iranian state enforcement killed at least 323 men, women, and children over five days of nationwide protests in 2019. The government had previously blocked most people's access to the internet before the fatal crackdown.

To avoid consequences in the absence of online documentation, the state undertook violent operations and attempted to conceal evidence of crimes from the public. A government shutdown could result in the loss of untold amounts of evidence of criminal crimes done by the government.