Originally posted by the Voice of America.
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Iranians Struggle Without the Internet

Michelle Quinn

   OAKLAND, CALIF. - The Iranian people have experienced days without the
   internet, the result of a government-backed shutdown as a response to
   nationwide protests over gas price increases.

   This isn't the first time the Tehran government has blocked Iranians'
   access to parts of the internet or to social media sites. But observers
   say the current shutdown, which began Saturday night, has been nearly
   complete, with few residents still with internet access.

   "It's a coup against internet freedom," said Amir Rashidi, an internet
   security and digital rights researcher at the Center for Human Rights
   in Iran. "Disrupting internet and blocking content are things they do.
   We get used to it. But this kind of thing -- a total internet shutdown
   -- they have never done that."

     "Unlike previous efforts at censorship and bandwidth throttling, the
     internet of Iran is presently experiencing a multi-day wholesale
     disconnection for much of its population -- arguably the largest
     such event ever for Iran." says [1]@DougMadory
     [2]https://t.co/8HE5oClY96
     -- InternetIntelligence (@InternetIntel) [3]November 18, 2019

   Communications blocked

   In prior disruptions, some Iranians have been able to circumvent
   blockages with digital tools, such as encryption and others that allow
   anonymous communication. But those tools are not helping this time,
   experts said.

   That may be because tightening U.S. sanctions against Iran have led
   technology firms such as Google and others to make their technologies
   less available to the Iranian people, Rashidi said.

   Berhan Taye, a senior policy analyst with Access Now, said the Iranian
   shutdown is "a bit more intricate this time around." In the past,
   digital civil liberties groups like hers have been able to help people
   with technologies that allow communication to continue.

   "We have technically not seen something like this," she said. "And the
   whole country is off the grid, which is troubling."

   Taye said the [4]Iranian government systematically targeted mobile
   internet, then fixed lines, then the messaging service, with "each
   channel for circumvention disappeared one by one."

     Internet blackout in Iran still going...
     "Unlike previous efforts at censorship and throttling, Iran is
     experiencing a multi-day wholesale disconnect for much of its
     population -- arguably the largest such event ever for Iran." writes
     [5]@DougMadory[6]https://t.co/edmgIJ8b0V
     [7]pic.twitter.com/ckjgTxDMO9
     -- InternetIntelligence (@InternetIntel) [8]November 19, 2019

   Consolidated network

   Unlike some countries, Iran hasn't had an internet kill switch, a
   central node for cutting off the internet.

   One reason for Iran's success at blocking the internet, experts said,
   may be its project to create a wholly separate internal network -- the
   National Information Network. As part of building the internet network,
   the government has been able to consolidate disparate aspects of the
   hardware and software of the existing network through one
   government-run provider, giving it more control.

   The project has concerned outside observers, such as the Trump
   administration in Washington.

   "Countries that take such desperate actions prove to the world that
   they are afraid of their own people," the State Department said in a
   May 23 statement to VOA Persian.
   

References

   Visible links
   1. https://twitter.com/DougMadory?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
   2. https://t.co/8HE5oClY96
   3. https://twitter.com/InternetIntel/status/1196519624000573447?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
   4. https://www.accessnow.org/its-not-the-first-time-iran-has-shut-down-the-internet-but-this-time-its-different/
   5. https://twitter.com/DougMadory?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
   6. https://t.co/edmgIJ8b0V
   7. https://t.co/ckjgTxDMO9
   8. https://twitter.com/InternetIntel/status/1196716428637986818?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

   Hidden links:
   9. file://localhost/middle-east/voa-news-iran/us-concerned-irans-intranet-project-will-repress-internet-freedom

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