The government of Iran on Sunday placed what it says is a "temporary" restriction on access to social media including Instagram and an encrypted messaging app call Telegram. Demonstrators have used both to chronicle and coordinate their anti-government protests this week, and Iranian state television says the censorship decision was made at "the highest security level" to "maintain tranquility and security of society."
The CEO of Telegram said on Twitter his company refused Tehran's request to deny service to protesters, and as a result Iran blocked the app for "the majority of Iranians." Earlier Sunday, the Iranian government threatened to respond to protesters chanting "death to the dictator" with an "iron fist." Iranian Interior Minister Rahmani Fazli promised demonstrators would "pay the price," accusing them of using social media to cause "violence and fear."
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.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
5 sleeper hit cartoons about Trump's struggles to stay awake in courtCartoons Artists take on courtroom tranquility, war on wokeness, and more
-
The true story of Feud: Capote vs. The SwansIn depth The writer's fall from grace with his high-flying socialite friends in 1960s Manhattan is captured in a new Disney+ series
-
Scottie Scheffler: victory for the 'pre-eminent golfer of this era'Why Everyone's Talking About Masters victory is Scheffler's second in three years
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescueSpeed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in MoroccoSpeed Read
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female presidentSpeed Read
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. saysSpeed Read
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprisingSpeed Read
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstancesSpeed Read
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2Speed Read
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governorSpeed Read
