Iranian authorities have imposed strict and targeted restrictions on internet use to prevent protesters from gathering and to prevent images of raids on their demonstrations from reaching the outside world, observers say.

Activists have expressed concern that the restrictions, which also affect Instagram, which remains unblocked and very popular in Iran, could allow authorities to carry out repression “under cover of darkness”.

Protests erupted a week ago over the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in Tehran after she was arrested by the notorious Morality Police. They first erupted in their northern home province of Kurdistan before spreading across the country.

Internet access watchdog Netblocks described the access restrictions as the “tightest internet restrictions” in Iran since the deadly crackdown on protests in November 2019, when the country experienced an unprecedented near-total internet shutdown.

It said mobile data networks have been cut – although there are signs of a return to connectivity – and that there have been severe regional restrictions on access to Instagram and WhatsApp.

“It’s significantly different from what we saw in November 2019. It’s not nearly complete and complete like it was then, but rather sporadic,” said Mahsa Alimardani, senior Iran researcher for the Article 19 Freedom of Speech Group.

“But there’s definitely a lot of disruptions and shutdowns,” she told AFP, while stressing that people were still able to connect to filtered networks via VPNs.

Alimardani said Iranian authorities may be aware of the impact of a total internet shutdown on the economy, as well as everyday life issues such as online doctor appointments. They also tap into the National Information Network, an autonomous infrastructure that Iran plans to develop as its own internet, she said.

She said the restrictions on posting videos of the protests have “added hurdles” but that they are “still coming out”.

Videos posted on social media included viral images of women burning their headscarves and protesters tearing down images of the Islamic Republic’s leadership, as well as security forces shooting at protesters.

During the Iranian wave of protests in November 2019, sparked by a rise in fuel prices, activists argue that the internet shutdown allowed authorities to carry out bloody repressions that remained largely hidden from the world.

Amnesty International says 321 people were killed then, but stresses that this includes only confirmed deaths and the real number could be much higher.

The rights group said it was now “deeply concerned that Iranian authorities are disrupting access to the internet and mobile networks,” and called on world leaders to take urgent action to pressure Iran to “that he stop killing and injuring more protesters under cover of darkness.”

The director of the New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI), Hadi Ghaemi, said that “the potential for massive bloodshed is now real.”

“The government has shut down internet access to prevent people from sending evidence of the state’s atrocities to the outside world,” he said.

Instagram boss Adam Mosseri has voiced his concerns about the cuts, while WhatsApp, also owned by social media giant Meta, insisted it is not behind access cuts and would “do everything in our technical power to protect our services.” to maintain”.

Secure messaging service Signal confirmed it remained blocked in Iran and encouraged users outside to set up a proxy server to help people connect.

Iran’s blocking of major platforms in recent years – including Facebook, Twitter, Telegram, YouTube and TikTok – had made Instagram and WhatsApp the two most widely used social media apps in Iran.

State media reports confirmed officials had ordered access to the two services restricted.

Observers have also noted a regional bias to internet cuts, particularly in the Kurdistan Region, where some of the fiercest clashes have taken place.

“Internet disruptions are usually part of larger efforts to suppress the Iranian people’s freedom of expression and assembly and to stem ongoing protests,” the UN human rights expert panel said, describing the restrictions as Iran’s third such shutdown in a year.

“Government-ordered internet disruptions are unjustifiable under any circumstances,” they added.