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.
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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.
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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.
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