Iran has experienced severe internet disruptions as local service providers, including mobile services, repeatedly went offline during the recent conflict with Israel. The Iranian government has been blamed for ordering the shutdown, which has had a profound impact on people’s lives, jobs, and the economy. Mir, a 23-year-old living in northern Tehran, has spent his nights searching for proxy links to break through the internet blackout.
He said, “We can’t use VPNs anymore. To get around this internet blackout, we are using special proxy links, essentially ‘secret tunnels’ that route messages through servers outside.”
The Iranian government shut down access to the internet during the war with Israel, accusing its adversary of exploiting the network for military purposes. Local sources reported that only correspondents working for vetted foreign media had access to the internet.
Leila, a 22-year-old student leader living in Abbas Abad, said she only managed to reconnect during the shutdown after receiving help from her boyfriend in Europe. “My boyfriend in Europe sent me configuration links via text. Without that, I would still be completely cut off,” she said.
The blackout not only severed contact with the outside world but made life under Israeli bombardment even more difficult. Arash, a student in Tehran, said, “It’s like being walled in. We’ve lost access to each other, to independent news, to help.
Iran’s internet blackout’s daily impact
There’s just state media and silence followed by the sounds of bombs.”
Iran is not alone in this practice; completely shutting down internet access is a common tactic in nondemocratic countries. Blocking internet access can isolate the populace, suppress dissent, and maintain governmental control by preventing the flow of information.
Internet shutdowns have significant impacts on everyday life and the economy. Individuals are unable to communicate effectively, businesses suffer losses, and emergency services may struggle to operate efficiently. In countries with privatized mobile and internet providers, governmental control is often exercised through legislation or directives, such as age restrictions on adult content.
By contrast, Iran has spent years developing its capacity to control internet access broadly. There are two primary methods a nation could use to block citizens’ internet access: physical disconnection and software and configuration. Physical disconnection involves physically disconnecting the incoming internet connection at the point of entry. In contrast, software and configuration involve modifying the Domain Name System (DNS) to manipulate the connection between domain names and their corresponding IP addresses.
Governments could also force local internet service providers (ISPs) to remove their Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) routes from the internet, effectively disconnecting the country from the global internet. Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) have long been used to bypass internet restrictions in countries with strict internet controls, but they are ineffective when the internet is physically disconnected. Satellite internet services, such as Starlink, Viasat, and Hughesnet, provide internet access through satellites orbiting Earth and have become a critical tool for circumventing government-imposed internet restrictions in Iran.
Turning off the internet has profound implications on people’s lives, jobs, and the economy. While countries with democratic governance are less likely to impose such extreme measures, the technical capabilities to do so exist worldwide.
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