Who is Rasoul Jalili, the So-Called “Father of Filtering” of the Islamic Republic?

A digital security researcher and internet freedom activist told IranWire that calling Rasoul Jalili the “Father of Filtering in Iran” is likely a “slip of the tongue,” adding that the real architect of internet censorship in Iran is Ali Khamenei.

Ali Sharifi Zarchi, a former professor of Artificial Intelligence and Bioinformatics at Sharif University of Technology, said in a tweet that Rasoul Jalili, the former interim head and president of Sharif University during the 2022 protests, is the “Father of Filtering” in Iran. Sharifi Zarchi said: “A confidential document has been leaked that demonstrates the malicious intent of Rasoul Jalili and the company Amnafzar Gostar Sharif regarding the total filtering of the internet and cutting off the Iranian people’s connection to the world. This plan was sent to the secretariat of the Supreme Council of Cyberspace and the ‘Infrastructure Communications Company,’ proving the vile role of the Ministry of Communications.”

Who is Rasoul Jalili?

Rasoul Jalili is a professor in the Department of Computer Science at Sharif University. He was among the first people personally appointed by Ali Khamenei as a “real member” of the Supreme Council of Cyberspace on March 8, 2012, soon after the council was created to set high-level policies for controlling the internet.

Before the council was formed, Khamenei had described the country’s cyberspace as “unbridled.” Jalili later referred to this in a post on the domestic platform Virasti as “Famak,” or “Filthy Cyberspace.”

Jalili was born in August 1961. He completed his undergraduate degree in computer science at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, began his master’s at Sharif University in 1987, and later earned his doctorate in Australia. He has been teaching at Sharif University since 1995. From September 2009 to August 2010, when protests over the 2009 presidential election were taking place, Jalili was working as a visiting researcher at the University of California, Davis.

The Supreme Council of Cyberspace is a high-level body in Iran led by the president, with 18 organizations and ministries as members, including the IRGC, the Ministry of Intelligence, and IRIB. Jalili is one of its “real members,” directly appointed by Khamenei, alongside figures such as former IRIB chiefs Ezzatollah Zarghami and Mohammad Sarafraz.

Reports suggest that, beyond his academic role, Jalili has been deeply involved in the filtering industry and the systems used to control digital access. According to Factnameh, he has worked as a CEO, board member, or founder of at least eight companies or associations active in this space.

One of the companies where Jalili served as a board member was sanctioned by the U.S. Department of the Treasury for its role in internet censorship in Iran.

His network includes Amnafzar Gostar Sharif, Raya Samanehaye Amn Parsa Sharif, the “Society of Clean Cyberspace Developers,” Pardis-e Aval-e Kish, and the “Iranian Cryptology Association.”

Rasoul Jalili himself has been under U.S. sanctions since 2012. Critics of the Iranian government say he has played a role in the repression of citizens and students at Sharif University.

For Jalili, filtering is profitable from both sides

Mehdi Saramifar, a digital security researcher and internet freedom activist, told IranWire that calling Rasoul Jalili the “Father of Filtering” in Iran is likely a “slip of the tongue,” and that the real architect of filtering policies is Ali Khamenei.

Still, Jalili is often referred to in Iran as the “Father of Smart Filtering.” Saramifar said: “Smart filtering was a method they tried to implement in the mid-2010s. It was supposed to analyze social media content, for example, Instagram, to filter specific posts while leaving others accessible. This was based on technology that became obsolete; Meta changed its systems, and the possibility of ‘smart’ filtering vanished forever. Despite the Islamic Republic spending billions on it, it was ultimately a failed project.”

Saramifar also pointed out that Jalili’s position within the Supreme Council of Cyberspace is significant because he was personally appointed by Khamenei. He said: “Many people have come and gone from the council, but Jalili is someone Khamenei personally installed. He plays a vital role in preventing the lifting of filters and implementing various censorship methods. He once even suggested that Iran should implement an equivalent to WeChat (a Chinese messenger app).”

Speaking about Jalili’s role in the industry, Saramifar said: “He owns companies around Sharif University that are primarily involved in filtering or spying on users. His flagship company is Amnafzar Sharif, with others around it, including Yaftar, which implements filtering for the Mobile Telecommunications Company of Iran (MCI), and the Namdar Holding. Issa Zarepour, the former Minister of Communications, was the CEO of Namdar, and Rasoul Jalili is a shareholder in that holding. One could say Zarepour was, in a way, his protégé.”

A 2024 report by Filterban said that a company called Yaftar, formally known as “Yaftar-e Pajouhan-e Pishtaz-e Rayanesh” and established in 2013, submitted a “User Monitoring” plan to the Prosecutor General’s Office. The report said the company used phishing methods to collect user data, including browsing information. It has been a key contractor for projects involving online monitoring, from tracking “nudity” and “improper hijab” to broader surveillance.

Jalili’s role also extends into academia and administration. Between 2021 and 2023, he served as interim head and later president of Sharif University of Technology. During this time, the university saw crackdowns, with security forces opening fire on students in the library and parking areas during the “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests. The dismissal of Professor Ali Sharifi Zarchi during Jalili’s tenure was linked to his support for protesting students.

Jalili is said to benefit from filtering both ideologically and financially. Through his roles in multiple companies, including several directly involved in internet censorship, he has secured substantial financial gains.

Reformist media in Iran have referred to such figures as “Filtering Profiteers” (Kasaban-e Filtering), estimating their annual turnover in the tens of billions of tomans. A report by Shargh said that in 2023, the Parliament Research Center found that more than 70 percent of Iranian users rely on VPNs to bypass restrictions. At the same time, companies such as Amnafzar and Peyk Asa, which provide telecom equipment and SMS systems, have received large government contracts under projects like the “National Information Network” and the “Protection Bill” (Sianat).

When asked about the National Information Network, Jalili described it as the “ideal point of cyber-sovereignty,” while also saying he does not support completely cutting Iran off from the global internet.

Whether he is called the “Father of Filtering” or the “Father of Smart Filtering,” Jalili is seen as closely aligned with the system. After Khamenei described cyberspace as “unbridled,” Jalili publicly apologized to the leader on behalf of government bodies for not imposing enough control over the internet.