Telecoms minister says Iran determined to ease internet restrictions

Iran’s telecoms minister Sattar Hashemi says that a new administration that was appointed in the country in mid-summer is determined to ease restrictions on the internet.

Hashemi told reporters after a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday that the government has some serious plans that could finally lead to the lifting of internet restrictions.

“The issue of filtering is a public concern and it is high on our agenda,” he said.

The minister said that more than two-thirds of internet users in Iran use Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to get around the curbs imposed on access to foreign-based social media platforms and websites.

“Many of these VPNs are unauthorized and can be used as platforms for attacks on our systems. The use of VPNs has also increased household costs and has created a market with no transparent turnover figures,” said Hashemi.

The remarks come months after President Masoud Pezeshkian promised as part of his presidential campaign that he would ease restrictions on the internet.

The curbs were intensified some two years ago to quell riots caused by the  death of a young woman in police custody.

Experts have raised concerns about the safety of access to internet in Iran as many users use VPNs even for access to services that are not blocked.

That comes as internet restrictions on certain websites and applications, including social media platforms based in the US, have led to a major boom in the use of domestic platforms.

Hashemi said in a post on the X, which is banned in Iran, that the current government will not back away from its promise to remove the restrictions and increase the speed of the internet in the country.

“The management of the cyber-space differs from imposing restrictions on it,” said the minister in the post written in Farsi.

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