00:00It is the longest, most widespread internet shutdown in the history of the Islamic Republic,
00:05imposed to curtail and violently crack down on anti-government protesters
00:08that activists say have killed more than 4,000 people.
00:12The complete cut-off came on January 8th and is still largely in place,
00:16with Iranian authorities saying they don't plan to restore it until the Iranian New Year at least, which is in March.
00:22Many analysts, however, fear that Iran will never restore the internet in any substantial way.
00:27Many saying it expects Iran to follow the lines of China or Russia with extremely heavy control.
00:33While cutting off information and access to the international community,
00:35the internet crackdown has also hit the economy and online businesses hard.
00:39To get more insight into what this internet access or lack of it will mean going forward,
00:45we can speak now to Keep It On, a global campaign manager at Access Now,
00:49an international network of over 300 organisations fighting against internet shutdowns.
00:54Felicia Antonio, thanks so much for your time.
00:56Can I start by asking you about Iran, you know, this total shutdown,
01:00which I believe is still very much in place.
01:03Do you expect it to last?
01:07Yeah, from all indications, this is the longest and most comprehensive shutdown
01:13we've documented in the history of the country.
01:15And it doesn't look promising, given the comprehensive nature of this shutdown.
01:26From what we are receiving from our partners as well as activists on the ground,
01:31it seems this is going to be longer than we expected.
01:36And this is not a new practice in the country, as we've documented other forms of internet
01:46disruptions and brutal crackdown on protesters in recent years in Iran.
01:53Indeed, we have seen them cut off internet in the past, notably in 2002.
01:57But it still surprised many the extent to which they could hold a blackout over the entire country.
02:02I mean, Iran clearly had quite sophisticated systems in place.
02:06Can you tell us a bit more about that?
02:09Yeah, so Iran has been pushing for the intranet or national internet,
02:16and of course, trying to get people off the global internet.
02:20And so this shutdown and its nature clearly shows the authorities' desire to ensure that people
02:30do not have access to the global internet, at the same time prevent people from sharing information
02:36with the outside world amid the violent crackdown on protesters.
02:41It's really, really concerning for us as activists that prolonged shutdowns are being used as a tactic to silence dissent
02:51and to also conceal human rights abuses, as we have seen being documented in Iran.
02:59At least we've recorded over, or reports indicate that over 4,000 protesters have been killed.
03:069,000-plus additional cases are still being investigated, and over 20,000, 60,000 people have been arrested.
03:15And these figures could be higher, but due to the shutdown,
03:20it's making it really, really difficult to verify and confirm these cases effectively.
03:28In general, across the world, does an internet blackout or crackdown like that
03:33correspond with an upsurge in violence?
03:35Yes.
03:38Years of monitoring by the Keep It On Coalition shows that internet shutdowns in Iran has consistently
03:44or consistently served as a warning sign of mass violence and brutal crackdown.
03:51And we've seen similar violence erupt in countries like Myanmar, Ethiopia, Sudan, and other places.
04:01So, yes, shutdowns tend to enable actors or governments to conceal human rights violations.
04:10Now, are there any ways around this internet blackout for, let's stick with Iranians?
04:16I mean, I'm thinking of the virtual private networks or VPNs that many of us use to connect to different servers around the world,
04:23or, of course, there's the satellite internet as well.
04:25In this case, VPNs would not be able to work, given that it's a complete blackout.
04:33But despite authorities' question to see what's going on, activists in the country and outside the country have remained resilient.
04:43And tech engineers as well as developers are also supporting people with ways to bypass the restrictions and to let the world know what's going on in the country.
04:56We know that people have, are relying on low Earth-Covid satellite connectivity, like Starlink equipment, to share information with the outside world.
05:09And we do know that the authorities began using JAMIS to disrupt satellite connectivity services.
05:18But people are still finding ways to work around and to access the internet.
05:23However, these workarounds are very limited.
05:26to a very small number of people, and also defeats the purpose of an open internet for all.
05:32It does beg the question of the future of the internet and who gets to control it.
05:36Because indeed, it's either government, it looks like now, or major businessmen.
05:40It looks like the person who controls the internet really has a staggering amount of power.
05:45And are there any measures being put in place to redress this?
05:50From our perspective, we want the international community to, first of all,
05:56or we join the international community, including the UN independent international fact-finding mission to ensure that internet access is immediately restored and mobile connectivity as well.
06:09And we also demand accountability and transparency for the human rights abuses that have been documented in the country.
06:19And yes, it's important for us to begin conversations around what mechanisms we can adopt to support communities and people that are increasingly being affected by internet shutdowns,
06:34like alternative connectivity, satellite connections, and other workarounds that could potentially help people in such authoritarian countries or regimes to be able to access and share information freely.
06:50Now, can you compare a little bit to us what we're seeing currently in Iran to the situation in China,
06:56which has always had a very strong control of the internet and lots of applications and sites blocked for people there?
07:03Or indeed, Russia, which has come a little bit later than China, maybe, to controlling it,
07:08and even, I believe, has this kill switch for the internet there?
07:10Yeah, we've documented similar disruptions in Russia, in particular during its invasion on Ukraine, and the impact cuts across.
07:24We focus a lot on the impact that these disruptions have on people.
07:28And of course, during crisis, information is a critical lifeline that needs to be protected.
07:35And I think internet shutdowns, even though are not limited to authoritarian regimes, as we've seen some democratic governments also impose them,
07:46I think it's a sign of governments wanting to take control of the narrative.
07:51And so that is not different from what we are seeing in China or in Russia or in Iran and other parts of the world.
07:58Is there anything finally individuals can do to help protect themselves?
08:01I mean, should we be ditching our mobile phones and bringing landlines back in much of the world?
08:07I think at this point, my lives have become very dependent on mobile phones and also on information.
08:14So I wouldn't recommend that.
08:16But I think we need to remain resilient in drawing attention to these authoritarian practices
08:22and working together to demand accountability and ensure that human rights are respected.
08:31I think we've gotten to a point where there's been an established global norm that internet shutdowns are unlawful and harmful,
08:39but norms become ineffective without consequences.
08:42And so we need stronger legal and political accountability mechanisms
08:47so governments cannot just shut down the internet with impunity and simply restore when they feel like it.
08:55Felicia and Tonio, thanks so much for your time and bringing us your insight on the situation.
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