SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk
American tycoon Elon Musk says the use of satellite internet services in Iran has increased and around 100 Starlink devicesare active in the country now.
SpaceX Chief Executive said in a tweet on Monday that “approaching 100 Starlinks active in Iran”, three months after he confirmed he would activate the service in the country to help Iranians circumvent internet restrictions imposed by the government amid nationwide protests.
Back in September Twitter billionaire had announced he would activate Starlink in Iran as part of the United States effort “to advance internet freedom” and facilitate “the free flow of information” to Iranians.
The Iranian regime has been severely restricting Internet access in general and access to popular social media platforms, such as Instagram, that play a key role in protester communications. These restrictions have caused many problems for those who rely on social media to promote their businesses and hugely damaged e-commerce.
The Islamic Republic has been witnessing mass protests that erupted after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody in mid-September for wearing what the authorities deem “inappropriate attire.”
The government is extremely nervous that people use the Internet and social media to share news and images about protests, possibly motivating a larger segment of the population to join demonstrations.
Earlier this year, several US lawmakers and the former US official Victoria Coates, who served as senior advisor to the energy secretary in the Trump administration, called on entrepreneur Elon Musk to activate Starlink satellite access for Iranians.
Reports on social media during September and October said that private entities have smuggled Starlink reception equipment into Iran.