Iran lifts ban on WhatsApp, Google Play, state media reports | Internet news

Authorities vote to allow use of Meta’s instant messaging platform and Google Play as a first step to scale back internet restrictions.

Iranian authorities have voted to lift a ban on Meta’s instant messaging platform WhatsApp and Google Play as a first step to scale back internet restrictions, according to Iranian state media.

“A positive majority has been achieved to lift restrictions on access to some popular foreign platforms such as WhatsApp and Google Play,” Iran’s official IRNA news agency said on Tuesday, citing a meeting on the matter chaired by President Masoud Pezeshkian.

Pezeshkian, who took office in July, had promised to ease Iran’s longstanding internet restrictions.

“Today, the first step in removing internet restrictions … has been taken,” IRNA quoted Information and Communications Technology Minister Sattar Hashemi as saying.

It was not immediately clear when the decision would take effect.

Social media platforms have been widely used during anti-government protests in Iran.

In September, the US called on Big Tech to help avoid online censorship in countries that heavily censor the internet, including Iran.

The ban had sparked debate in Iran, with critics claiming the controls were proving costly for the country. “The restrictions have achieved nothing but anger and added costs to people’s lives,” presidential adviser Ali Rabiei said on X.

Others, however, warned against lifting the curbs.

On Tuesday, the reformist Shargh daily reported that 136 members of Iran’s 290-member parliament sent a letter to the Supreme Council responsible for protecting the internet, saying the move would be a “gift to (Iran’s) enemies”.

The lawmakers called for allowing access to restricted online platforms only “if they are committed to the values ​​of Islamic society and abide by the laws” in Iran.

Over the years, Iranians have become accustomed to using virtual private networks, or VPNs, to bypass internet restrictions.

Other popular social media platforms including Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and YouTube remain blocked after being banned in 2009.

Instagram and WhatsApp were added to the list of blocked applications after nationwide protests erupted in September 2022 following the death in custody of Mahsa Amini. Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, was arrested for an alleged violation of the Islamic Republic’s dress code for women.

Hundreds of people, including dozens of security personnel, were killed in the ensuing months-long nationwide protests. Thousands of protesters were arrested.