'Nation held hostage': Global protests planned as Iran's internet outage reaches nearly 70 days

The ongoing internet blackout in Iran, now stretching into its third month, has galvanized international solidarity, with global demonstrations planned to support the silenced populace. Exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi has rightly decried the situation, stating that the Iranian people are being held "hostage" by a regime that systematically isolates its citizens.

This is not the first time the Islamic Republic has weaponized internet access. We have seen similar tactics employed to quell dissent, from the Kurdish provinces following Mahsa Amini's death to the nationwide protests sparked by economic hardship earlier this year. While some state-controlled domestic networks offer a semblance of connectivity, the vast majority of Iranians remain cut off from the outside world, crippling businesses and obscuring the regime's human rights abuses.

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the current restrictions as keeping the Iranian people “hostage.”

Compounding the issue is the regime's introduction of 'white SIM cards' and 'Pro Internet' packages, ostensibly granting access to a select few. However, as cybersecurity experts point out, this creates a tiered system of digital privilege, potentially discriminating based on ethnicity, gender, or political alignment. This "digital discrimination" transforms internet access from a right into a privilege, controlled and dispensed by the regime, further entrenching its power and control over information.

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While Pro Internet is an overt form of digital discrimination, the level of access to these services also varies across different professions, and it's unclear based on what criteria it has been designed.