Iran War: Internet Shutdown Severs Outside Contact

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A nationwide internet shutdown and digital blackout is not new in Iran. The Islamic theocratic regime routinely cuts off internet connectivity whenever there are mass anti-government protests in the country.

During the recent nationwide demonstrations in January, which reportedly left thousands of people dead, authorities enforced a weekslong internet blackout. They also suspended it during the 12-day war with Israel last June.

Since the US-Israeli military offensive against Iran began on Saturday, February 28, Iranian authorities have once again shut off internet access, plunging the country into an information blackout.

"Iran's internet blackout has now exceeded 120 hours with connectivity still flatlining around 1% of ordinary levels," internet monitor Netblocks said in a message posted on social media platform X on Thursday.

Inside Iran, simple tasks like driving with navigation tools such as Google Maps, or checking websites for information had become impossible.

Only the highly limited local intranet was available.

Iranians Abroad Worry About Loved Ones Back Home

The shutdown has severely curtailed the flow of information and communication, not only between people inside and outside Iran but also within the country.

Hayberd Avedian is a board member of Ayande e.V., a youth association in Germany that focuses on young people with an Iranian background in the Germanspeaking world.

Avedian said that being unable to communicate with the loved ones back in Iran has been extremely stressful and challenging.

"When I wake up in the morning, my first question is: Are my parents still alive? Are they unharmed? I immediately check the news: Which areas have been bombed, where have there been strikes?" Avedian told DW.

"Even if I don't see any strikes where they live, the fear remains because I often can't reach them," Avedian added. "Due to the internet and communication shutdown, it is impossible to even find out if they are okay. And I know that in such a situation, even a normal trip to the bakery to buy bread can be dangerous."

Mitra B., 50, who left Iran after the 1979 Islamic Revolution and now lives in Germany, echoed similar worries.

"I haven't heard anything from my aunt in Iran yet. My hope is that she is alive, that she is well and that Iran will soon be freed from this regime," she told DW.

Iranians Attempt to Bypass the Blackout

Although most Iranians are cut off from the digital world, a select group of regime insiders and supporters continues to enjoy unrestricted internet access using what Iranians call "white SIM cards."

Reports suggest there are more than 50,000 such SIM cards in Iran, with many of these users remaining active on social media, and peddling government propaganda and misleading narratives.

For others, though, communication has been a huge challenge. Calls to Iran from overseas to mobile phones or landlines are near-impossible.

Some Iranians have reported finding brief moments of the day when they are able to connect and send messages.

Many have also resorted to using censorshipcircumvention tools like Psiphon, virtual private networks (VPNs) or illegal Starlink subscriptions, the Elon Musk-owned satellite-based internet provider, prompting warnings from Iranian authorities not to connect to the internet.

The situation makes it difficult for journalists to report on the ongoing conflict, and prevents activists and the general public from sharing independent accounts of events. Experts say it also leads to a surge of misinformation, as pro-regime accounts fill the information vacuum with their own narrative.

‘Lifting the Internet Shutdown Is Essential'

The current suspension of internet services carries an additional risk, as the Israeli military regularly issues warnings ahead of launching aerial strikes, urging civilians to evacuate certain areas or avoid specific locations in Iranian cities.

With the digital blackout, citizens' access to these warnings is increasingly limited, putting civilian lives at risk.

"Even important warnings and evacuation calls, such as those issued by the IDF [Israel Defense Forces], do not reach many people in time because the internet in Iran is deliberately shut down," said Avedian.

Tahireh Panahi, researcher at the University of Kassel at the department of Public Law, IT-Law and Environmental Law, told DW that the internet blackout "is not only an individual problem, but also a social one."

She pointed out that it makes organizing and coordinating mass anti-government protests more difficult.

"In addition, the clerical regime ensures that information about its crimes does not reach the outside world," Panahi noted.

"That is why lifting the internet shutdown is essential. Many exiled Iranians feel responsible for ensuring that information gets out of the country and that people can be helped."

Read: Iran Targets Israeli Embassy and Bahraini Oil Refinery

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