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Iranian authorities’ insistence on internet censorship amid accusations of obscuring the crackdown on protests
A specialized organization reported yesterday that the internet blackout in Iran, which is feared to be aimed at obscuring the violent repression campaign carried out by authorities against protesters, has entered its third week.
NetBlocks, a digital connectivity monitoring organization, posted on the platform X that “Iran is now under a national internet blackout for a full two weeks.”
In recent days, reports have indicated that an additional number of users have managed to connect to the network in Iran; however, the organization confirmed that this remains sporadic and is limited to sites and data traffic approved by the authorities.
In its statement, the organization noted: “As of 336 hours since the internet blackout began, connectivity levels remain stagnant with only a slight increase” in connection traffic associated with “networks permitted by the regime.”
It added: “A small number of users are currently able to communicate with the outside world,” without specifying the tools used to do so.
The authorities provided their first official toll from the protests yesterday, announcing that 3,117 people had been killed, including 2,427 “martyrs,” in reference to security personnel or innocent bystanders. The remainder are considered “rioters” whom the authorities accuse of receiving support from external parties, primarily the United States.
However, human rights organizations say the toll is due to security forces firing directly at protesters, with the real death toll potentially nearing 20,000.
These organizations emphasize that the internet blackout hinders their ability to verify casualty figures.
Authorities imposed the internet blackout starting the night of January 8, as the protests, which began in late December due to deteriorating living conditions, escalated to raise slogans against the ruling Islamic authorities in power since 1979.
