US Condemns Iran’s Restrictions on Internet Access - Voice of America - VOA News

The U.S. signed connected to an online coalition’s connection Thursday that condemned Iran’s restrictions to net entree during nationwide protests implicit the decease of Mahsa Amini past month.

The Freedom Online Coalition is made up of 34 governments that collaborate to beforehand net state worldwide.

“In furtherance of what has go a long-standing signifier of censorship, the Iranian authorities has to a ample standard unopen down the net yet again for astir of its 84 cardinal citizens nationwide by cutting disconnected mobile data; disrupting fashionable societal media platforms; throttling net service; and blocking idiosyncratic users, encrypted DNS services, substance messages, and entree entirely,” the FOC said successful a statement.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and White House nationalist information advisor Jake Sullivan supported the FOC’s statement.

“The Iranian authorities continues to restrict net entree pursuing protests spurred by Mahsa Amini’s tragic killing. The U.S. joins the @FO_Coalition's statement connection calling for Iran to assistance the restrictions and respect quality rights online,” Blinken tweeted connected Thursday.

Sullivan besides tweeted, saying, “Today, the United States joined the @FO_Coalition successful condemning #Iran's measures to restrict entree to the Internet successful the aftermath of protests implicit the sidesplitting of #MahsaAmini. Iran indispensable respect quality rights and Internet freedom.”

The FOC connection said, “We emphatically telephone connected the authorities of Iran to instantly assistance restrictions intended to disrupt oregon forestall their citizens from accessing and disseminating accusation online and from communicating safely and securely.”

Iran has accused countries that person expressed enactment for the protests of meddling successful its interior affairs.

Amini, a 22-year-old pistillate from Iran’s Kurdistan region, was arrested connected September 13 by the alleged morality constabulary for improper wearing of the hijab. She died 3 days aboriginal portion successful constabulary custody.

Iran's spiritual leaders person tried to represent the unrest arsenic portion of a breakaway uprising by the Kurdish number threatening the nation's unity, alternatively than arsenic a protestation of clerical rule, Reuters reported.

Common maneuver for suppression

Restrictions connected net entree are “a communal maneuver that governments usage to suppress dissent and quell unrest,” the World Economic Forum said connected Thursday.

The forum reported that “in 2021, astatine slightest 182 net shutdowns were documented successful 34 countries,” based connected information from Access Now and the #KeepItOn coalition, an planetary relation of integer advocacy groups.

Governments tin forestall their populations from accessing the net successful a assortment of ways, the World Economic Forum said. These see shutting disconnected the powerfulness grid oregon dismantling the net infrastructure, specified arsenic cellphone towers oregon fiber-optic networks, the forum said.

Officials besides tin restrict entree to circumstantial websites oregon connection platforms, specified arsenic Facebook, Telegram oregon WhatsApp, by blocking circumstantial URLs oregon IP addresses, it added.