Iran is planning to permanently break from the global internet, only allowing individuals vetted by the regime to connect online, according to Iranian digital rights activists.<\/p>\n
\u201cA confidential plan is under way to turn international internet access into a \u2018governmental privilege\u2019,\u201d according to a report<\/a> from Filterwatch, an organisation monitoring Iran\u2019s internet censorship, citing a number of sources in Iran.<\/p>\n \u201cState media and government spokespersons have already signaled that this is a permanent shift, warning that unrestricted access will not return after 2026.\u201d<\/p>\n Under the plan, Iranians who had security clearance or passed government checks would have access to a filtered version of the global internet, said Amir Rashidi, the leader of Filterwatch. All other Iranians would be allowed to access only the national internet: a domestic, parallel internet cut off from the broader world.<\/p>\n Graphic showing internet use in Iran in January<\/a><\/p>\n Iran\u2019s ongoing internet shutdown began on 8 January after 12 days of escalating anti-regime protests. Thousands of people have been killed<\/a>, although the demonstrations appear to have slowed<\/a> under the weight of a brutal crackdown.<\/p>\n Only limited information is filtering out of the country because of the blackout, which is one of the most severe internet shutdowns in history<\/a>, lasting longer than Egypt\u2019s 2011 internet shutdown during the Tahrir square protests. A government spokesperson reportedly told Iranian media<\/a> that the international internet would be shut off until at least Nowruz, the Persian new year, on 20 March.<\/p>\n A former US state department official who worked on internet censorship said the idea that Iran might attempt a permanent break from the global internet was \u201cplausible and terrifying\u201d, but also costly.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not out of the question that they\u2019re going to do it, but seeing these situations unfold, the economic impact and the cultural impact will be really massive. And they may overplay their hand.\u201d<\/p>\n Rashidi said: \u201cIt looks like [authorities] are happy with the current level of internet connectivity, and they believe this kind of shutdown helped them to control the situation.\u201d<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s current shutdown is the culmination of a 16-year effort to cement the regime\u2019s control over the country\u2019s internet. One side of this effort involves a sophisticated<\/a> system to filter internet traffic, allowing a select few to access the global internet and blocking everyone else \u2013 a practice known as whitelisting.<\/p>\n People shoping at a market in Tehran. Only limited information is filtering out of the country because of the internet blackout. Photograph: Getty Images<\/p>\n This whitelisting was probably enabled by technology exported<\/a> by China, said researchers focused on Iran\u2019s internet at Project Ainita and Outline Foundation, who asked not to be named owing to Iranian reprisals against digital rights researchers. This is made possible by high-capacity middleboxes, devices that attach to network cables to monitor and manipulate internet traffic. Systems commercially available now could be scaled up to allow authorities to inspect the internet traffic of entire countries \u2013 spying on individual users, as well as blocking websites, protocols, and certain VPN tools.<\/p>\n \u201cBasically, there\u2019s this censorship equipment that is sitting on every network, and the government can prevent connections going in both directions,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n Map of Iran\u2019s internet network<\/a><\/p>\n The other side of this is Iran\u2019s national internet, which can only be accessed inside the country. It allows all Iranians to use a handful of websites and applications purpose-built by the regime, including Iranian messaging services<\/a>, search engines<\/a>, navigation apps and a video streaming service<\/a> similar to Netflix. It is monitored and has virtually no links to the broader internet.<\/p>\n Iran has been working towards national internet since 2009, after authorities briefly shut down the internet during mass protests after the re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and realised that a wholesale shutdown had extreme costs.<\/p>\n \u201cThey literally just pulled the plug without thinking. They had never done it before,\u201d said the researchers at Outline Foundation and Project Ainita. \u201cAnd it basically threw the entire internet, and it really damaged a lot of things on their end as well.\u201d<\/p>\n The Milad telecommunication tower in Tehran. Iran has been working towards national internet since 2009. Photograph: Abedin Taherkenareh\/EPA<\/p>\n