Iran moving toward near-total digital isolation - digital rights group
Iran has entered what activists describe as the final stage of a plan to sharply restrict public access to the internet and place core communications under tighter security control, digital rights group Filterban said on Thursday.
The group said the project aimed to turn online access into what it called a government-controlled privilege, limited to people with high-level security clearance.
“This is the transition to a communications black hole,” Filterban said in its report, describing a system in which most users would lose access to open online services.
The group said authorities were working to upgrade deep packet inspection systems to detect and block Starlink and VPN traffic, while pushing private firms into tightly monitored internal messaging platforms.
Filterban said foreign technical partners had quietly exited parts of Iran’s telecom sector, signaling what it called the end of meaningful international cooperation in critical infrastructure.
“The era of public internet access in Iran is coming to an end,” the group said.
It warned that the measures were already hitting the economy, citing a collapse in e-commerce activity and supply chains after the latest shutdown.
