Page 12 - IAV Digital Magazine #448

iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine
Iran Bans Foreign Social Media Networks In Schools
TEHRAN: Iran´s ministry of educa- tion on Sunday banned the use of foreign social media networks in schools, the ILNA news agency reported, amid a push by Tehran to limit the influence of out- side online plat- forms.
Schools must "only use domes- tic social net- works" for their communication, the ministry said in a statement, according to the reformist-linked news agency.
Telegram is the most popular social network in Iran. In 2017, the app claimed it had 40-million monthly users in
the Islamic Republic.
Instagram is also very popular, and companies in Iran -- like elsewhere - - often use both platforms to com- municate directly with customers. Less used, Facebook and Twitter are blocked in Iran, but easily acces- sible using a vir-
tual private net- work (VPN).
During a wave of protests that hit dozens of Iranian cities over at the start of the year, Iranian authorities temporarily banned Telegram, accusing the app of allowing for- eign-based "counter-revolu- tionary" groups to fuel unrest.
Since then, authorities have sought to develop Iranian social media networks and limit the reliance on for- eign-based plat- forms, which Tehran accuses of hosting sites deemed hostile to the Islamic Republic.
Several Iranian
platforms offering services similar to Telegram have emerged in recent months, like the Soroush network, which already claims to have five million subscribers.
According to the official IRNA news agency, Telecommunicatio n Minister Mohammad- Javad Azari Jahromi recently pledged Iranian networks would offer the same guarantees of confidentiality as foreign platforms.
"No message is read, and no (personal) infor- mation is commu- nicated to any- one," he told par- liament.
In a statement recently posted to his website, Iran´s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the government should guarantee the "security and privacy" of people on the internet.
Khamenei called intrusions into online privacy "haram", or pro- hibited from a religious stand- point.
Iranian media has appeared to encourage people to join the new networks by assuring viewers they will continue to operate even if Telegram is again banned.
iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine