Iran: The Shadow of Confiscation on 'Telegram', the World's Largest Instant Messaging Network
- Saturday, 07 January 2017 08:58
NCRI - The internet filtering authorities of Iran complain about Telegram Company that has not taken measure to filter some websites of opponents and critics, as the Iranian regime requested.
The Secretary of the committee that determines the extensive criminal content tabs, Abdolsamad Khoram Abadi said:"the problem is currently not about obtaining an official permit. There are Telegram channels however that work against the regime. These channels have also been identified and reported to Telegram but have not yet been filtered since the Head of Telegram does not comply with Iran's laws."
He also added that the committee that determines the extensive criminal content tabs has issued a law four months ago that Telegram will be completely blocked in Iran unless the company complies with Iran's laws.
Telegram messenger was temporarily filtered last year. The founder of Telegram messenger, Paul Dorf in his twitter posted that "Iranian officials wanted to spy their citizens by Telegram."
The Minister of Information and Communications Technology, Mahmoud Vaezi stated in the last December that Telegram channels with a high number of members shall obtain license.
As Tasnim news agency reported, 700 people have applied for the license registration of Telegram channels. In the latest report released by Freedom House, Iran is among those countries that lack free internet and it is at the bottom of the ranking chart.
The Freedom House is a civil body that monitors civil liberties in Washington D.C. In 2016, this organization reported that Iran lies at the bottom of the free internet ranking chart with the score of 87.Syria and China are lower than Iran in this ranking. This condition is similar to 2015 as well.
