UN Human Rights Experts Urge Iran to Abandon Restrictive Internet Bill

Three UN human rights experts urge the Government of Iran to abandon its efforts to enact a new law that would effectively isolate the country from the global internet.

The Iranian Parliament may soon ratify the “Regulatory System for Online Services Bill” – more commonly referred to as the “User Protection Bill” – and adopt the legislation in mid-March by invoking a constitutional provision that permits the regular parliamentary process to be circumvented.

According to the United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner, the bill that was initially proposed in 2018, “grants the Government and army extensive control over infrastructure that connects Iran to the global internet. If enacted, the legislation will force technology companies to “follow state guidelines” or be subject to bandwidth throttling and blocking”.

“This bill represents a worrying step towards the consolidation of a digital wall in Iran. It will further restrict information in an environment where the freedom of expression and other fundamental rights are already heavily curtailed. It also interferes with the right of individuals to participate in cultural life and have access to cultural resources,” the experts said.

“We have previously raised our concerns about the bill in an effort to have a dialogue with the authorities on this issue. We regret that there has been no response to our letter and our recommendations on the bill have not been considered,” the experts said.

The Iranian regime has always tried to have increased control over access to information, as well as to digital technologies and online platforms. Twitter, Youtube, Facebook, Telegram and Signal are among the platforms banned in Iran. According to the United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner, the proposed “bill will likely block any remaining websites and platforms run by foreign companies still operating in Iran, require people to use IDs to access the internet and criminalize the distribution and sale of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs). It will also require social media platforms to cooperate with the Government in surveillance and censorship.”

The Iranian regime’s efforts to control the online space also includes shutdown of the internet. The Iranian regime have several times shut down the internet in eastern (Iranian) Kurdistan. For example, in the wake of demonstrations in support of southern (Iraqi) Kurdistan’s independence referendum, held on 25 September 2017, internet was shut down in many Kurdish cities. In addition, in November 2019, the internet was totally shutdown in Iran for one week during nationwide protests.

*The experts: Mr. Javaid Rehman, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran; Ms. Irene Khan , Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression; and Ms. Alexandra Xanthaki, Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights.