Iranian judge summons Mark Zuckerberg to court over privacy concerns
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

This doesn't seem like it's going to be high on Mark Zuckerberg's priority list.
An Iranian judge has summoned the Facebook CEO to appear in court to answer users' complaints surrounding the company's apps, including Instagram and Whatsapp. According to ISNA, the country's "semiofficial" news agency, judge Ruhollah Momen Nasab wants the apps to be blocked because of privacy concerns.
Since an extradition treaty between the United States and Iran doesn't exist, the chances of Zuckerberg showing up are slim to nothing. Iranian judges in the past have issued similar summons to high-profile people, but they usually aren't carried out.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The summons is just the latest in a string of threats and sanctions Iran has placed on social media. Last week, a court ordered access to Instagram to be prohibited, but users reported they could still access the photo-sharing service. Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter also remain banned in the country.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jordan Valinsky is the lead writer for Speed Reads. Before joining The Week, he wrote for New York Observer's tech blog, Betabeat, and tracked the intersection between popular culture and the internet for The Daily Dot. He graduated with a degree in online journalism from Ohio University.
-
The marvelous powers of mucus
The Explainer It's snot just a pesky cold symptom
-
What to know about the 'no tax on tips' policy
The Explainer The new bill would make tip income exempt from federal income taxes
-
Dehorning rhinos sharply cuts poaching, study finds
Speed Read The painless procedure may be an effective way to reduce the widespread poaching of rhinoceroses
-
Amazon launches 1st Kuiper internet satellites
Speed Read The battle of billionaires continues in space
-
Test flight of orbital rocket from Europe explodes
Speed Read Isar Aerospace conducted the first test flight of the Spectrum orbital rocket, which crashed after takeoff
-
Apple pledges $500B in US spending over 4 years
Speed Read This is a win for Trump, who has pushed to move manufacturing back to the US
-
Microsoft unveils quantum computing breakthrough
Speed Read Researchers say this advance could lead to faster and more powerful computers
-
TikTok's fate uncertain as weekend deadline looms
Speed Read The popular app is set to be banned in the U.S. starting Sunday
-
Appeals court kills FCC net neutrality rule
Speed Read A U.S. appeals court blocked Biden's effort to restore net-neutrality rules
-
Judge rejects Elon Musk's $56B pay package again
Speed Read Judge Kathaleen McCormick upheld her rejection of the Tesla CEO's unprecedented compensation deal
-
DOJ seeks breakup of Google, Chrome
Speed Read The Justice Department aims to force Google to sell off Chrome and make other changes to rectify its illegal search monopoly