Iranian authorities have lifted the ban on instant messaging platform Meta, WhatsApp and Google Play, as a first step in easing internet restrictions, Iranian state media reported on Tuesday.
The Islamic Republic has some of the strictest internet access controls in the world, but its blocks on US-based social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are routinely bypassed by tech-savvy Iranians using private networks. virtual.
“A positive majority has been reached to lift limitations on access to some popular foreign platforms such as WhatsApp and Google Play,” an Iranian official said. IRNA the news agency reported Tuesday, referring to a meeting on the issue headed by President Masoud Pezeshkian.
“Today the first step has been taken to remove Internet limitations…” IRNA quoted Iran's Minister of Information and Communications Technology Sattar Hashemi as saying.
Social media platforms were widely used in anti-government protests in Iran.
In September, the United States asked big tech companies to help evade online censorship in countries that intensely control the Internet, including Iran.
