Cartoon by Javad Takjoo

Another IRGC General Demands Parliament Pass Internet Censorship Bill

Iran International: As Iranians collect 800,000 online signatures against a proposed law to further restrict access to the internet, an IRGC general has said that it is in the interest of those who complain “to engage in debauchery on cyberspace”.

Golamreza Jalali urged the parliament on Saturday to pass a proposed bill called Legislation to Protect Cyberspace Users’ Rights, saying the parliament’s step to consider the legislation was “a welcome” development. He added that criticism of the bill emanates from “misunderstandings” and is promoted by people whose interest is “debauchery”.

Another military figure, Brigadier-General Mohammad-Reza Naghdi, a senior official in the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), wrote Friday to members of parliament urging them to end the "shameful situation" of "the hegemony of foreigners on Iranian cyberspace."

The legislation would require foreign-owned social networking and messaging corporations to appoint an Iranian representative, agree to comply with Iranian laws and regulations, and to officially register subscribers and provide this information to the authorities if requested.

This could result in further steps to completely ban major social media platforms such as Twitter and Instagram unavailable in Iran. Except Instagram all other major Western platforms are already blocked.

Protests against the Islamic Republic have been going on since mid-July and social media is a major factor both in mobilizing the people and also informing the world about the events and government crackdown.