Following a recent internet shutdown, the Iranian government has sent a formal letter to state-run companies asking them to disclose which foreign websites and services they rely on.
The nationwide outage lasted about a week earlier this month and coincided with widespread protests over rising fuel prices. The blackout disrupted communications, commerce and public access to online news and social platforms.
Digital rights experts say the letter to government-controlled organisations indicates Tehran may be preparing to implement a whitelist of approved sites as part of a broader plan to tighten control over the country’s internet. Such a whitelist would limit ordinary users’ access to a curated set of domestic and selected foreign services.
Amir Nazemi, head of Iran’s Information Technology Organisation, sent the letter and told the BBC that he felt “obliged to make sure vital services were available.” He said the inquiry is intended to help other government bodies understand how the shutdown affected the economy and which services are critical to public and commercial operations.
Iran has discussed the idea of a “national internet” since 2005, with policymakers arguing that a domestically controlled network would reduce external influence and make it easier to mirror popular foreign services within Iran. Over time authorities have developed a national filtering system that blocks access to numerous international platforms, including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, and restricts many foreign news outlets.
Observers compare Tehran’s approach to the high-profile internet controls used elsewhere, noting that a national firewall can be used both for content filtering and for cutting off broad swathes of connectivity during periods of unrest.
In the United States, Senator Ted Cruz publicly urged the Trump administration to consider sanctions against Iranian officials responsible for the recent shutdown, arguing that such measures could deter future large-scale disruptions of internet access.
The disclosure of Iran’s request to state entities comes shortly after Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, launched a “Contract for the Web,” a global initiative intended to protect essential web principles. The contract promotes universal access, privacy, and protections that make it harder for governments and corporations to sever or unduly restrict internet connectivity.
Major technology firms and civil society organisations have endorsed the contract, including companies such as Microsoft, Reddit, Google and Facebook, and groups like the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Web Foundation. Several national governments, including Germany, France and Ghana, have also signed on.
Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that the Wikimedia Foundation was a signatory of the Contract for the Web. The Wikimedia Foundation participated in the working group that helped develop the contract but did not sign the final document.
When asked why the Wikimedia Foundation chose not to sign the contract at this stage, the organisation provided this statement:
“The Foundation was part of the working group that helped to develop the contract, and we very much support the principles that it builds on and the clauses that it lays out. We have not signed as of yet because we still have some open questions around how the contract will be enforced to ensure accountability.
“However, we’re still in discussions with the working group and the Web Foundation and look forward to following the progress of the Contract for the Web. We hope that the contract will drive positive change towards a web that empowers everyone to freely participate in knowledge.”
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