{"id":55513,"date":"2024-12-25T02:58:21","date_gmt":"2024-12-25T02:58:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/innodebt.com\/?p=55513"},"modified":"2024-12-25T02:58:21","modified_gmt":"2024-12-25T02:58:21","slug":"iran-lifts-ban-on-whatsapp-and-google-play","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/innodebt.com\/?p=55513","title":{"rendered":"Iran lifts ban on WhatsApp and Google Play"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>Unlock the Editor\u2019s Digest for free<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__content-sign-up-topic-description\"><span>Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe class=\"article__content-sign-up-iframe close\" scrolling=\"no\" id=\"signUpIframe\" data-prev-url=\"\/register\/in-article-sign-up?ft-content-uuid=bb68c686-89d2-4305-bd1e-94452795809c\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<p>The reformist government of Masoud Pezeshkian has lifted Iran\u2019s ban on WhatsApp and Google Play, in a first step towards easing internet restrictions in the nation of 85mn people.<\/p>\n<p>A high-level meeting chaired by the president on Tuesday overcame resistance from hardline factions within the Islamic regime, Iranian media reported, as the government seeks to reduce pressures on civil society.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cToday, we took the first step towards lifting internet restrictions by demonstrating unity,\u201d Sattar Hashemi, Iran\u2019s minister of telecommunications, wrote on X. \u201cThis path will continue.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This move comes after Pezeshkian refused to enforce a hijab law recently ratified by the hardline parliament that would have imposed tougher punishments on women choosing not to observe a strict dress code.<\/p>\n<p>His government has also quietly reinstated dozens of university students and professors who had previously been barred from studying or teaching.<\/p>\n<p>The Islamic regime is grappling with mounting economic, political and social pressures both at home and across the Middle East, particularly after the unexpected collapse of the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad, which was a crucial regional ally.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The regime has a long history of weathering crises and maintaining power. But the convergence of domestic and foreign challenges has prompted questions about whether the leadership would respond by tightening controls over the population \u2014 or embracing reforms. <\/p>\n<p>Hardliners argue that the internet is a tool used by adversaries such as the US and Israel to wage a \u201csoft war\u201d against the Islamic republic. Reformists contend that repression only worsens public discontent.<\/p>\n<p>Pezeshkian, who won the presidential election in July, campaigned on promises to improve economic and social conditions, with a particular focus on easing restrictions on women\u2019s dress and lifting internet censorship.<\/p>\n<p>Hardliners had imposed restrictions on platforms such as X, Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Telegram and Instagram, but Iranians continued to access them through VPNs widely available in domestic markets.<\/p>\n<p>Reformist politicians have accused hardliners of hypocrisy, claiming some of them both enforce internet censorship and profit from the sale of VPNs through alleged links with companies offering them.<\/p>\n<p>Ali Sharifi Zarchi, a pro-reform university professor recently reinstated to his position, described Tuesday\u2019s decision as \u201ca first step\u201d that was \u201cpositive and hopeful\u201d. However, he added: \u201cIt should not remain limited to these two platforms.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Read the full article <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/bb68c686-89d2-4305-bd1e-94452795809c\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" rel=\"nofollow\">here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Unlock the Editor\u2019s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. The reformist government of Masoud Pezeshkian has lifted Iran\u2019s ban on WhatsApp and Google Play, in a first step towards easing internet restrictions in the nation of 85mn people. A high-level meeting chaired by the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":55514,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-55513","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Iran lifts ban on WhatsApp and Google Play | Innodebt<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Unlock the Editor\u2019s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.The reformist government of\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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