Security forces have stepped up their campaign against Tehran’s Internet cafes, ordering the closure of at least 272 businesses and issuing warnings to 847 others in recent months.
Tehran’s chief of security forces, Hossein Sajedu, confirmed the crackdown, saying new efforts to combat internet-related crimes had been put in place since the start of the year.
Iran is one of the most heavily censored countries in the world, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. Social media sites including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are blocked in Iran, though it is common knowledge that both President Hassan Rouhani and the Supreme Leader regularly tweet.
“The internet café owners offer illegal services to younger people and are harming families and society on the whole,” the Iranian Students’ News Agency reported Sajedii as saying.
The initiative is designed to clamp down on internet cafes that breach regulations. He said businesses offering internet services could face closure if they failed to follow the law and “observe social norms” — though he did not provide any specifics as to what type of social conduct he was referring to.
“The scheme that has been in force since the beginning of the year has meant that the FATA [cyber] police, along with security force agents, have carried out 5,280 inspections on internet cafes in the Greater Tehran region,” said Sajedii. “The operation is meant to maintain calm and security in Tehran neighbourhoods... the security forces will crack down on any immoral and illegal act by internet café owners.”
In mid-March, Iranian police launched a large-scale operation to combat “obscene and criminal websites,” which saw 241 people in Sistan and Baluchistan province arrested.
Sajedi cited “not having permission, immoral internet games, holding inappropriate photos, using anti-filtering software, accessing users passwords and allowing hackers to use the computers,” as the main reasons for closures.
Despite the authorities’ attempts to restrict freedoms online, internet penetration is high, especially among the younger generation. According to recent research by the Ministry of Sports and Youth, 70 percent of Iranians aged between 15 and 29 use anti-filtering software or proxy servers to access blocked websites and protect their identities.
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