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I suspect the Internet blackout in Iran is not actually related to its citizens - it isn't about silencing its citizens. It is to prevent hacking and tracking
by bhouston 6mo ago
I suspect the Internet blackout in Iran is not actually related to its citizens - it isn't about silencing its citizens.
It is to prevent hacking and tracking by US and Israel of what is going on over there, it is defensive since it has been shown that Iran's connected infrastructure is thoroughly compromised.
- stingraycharles 6mo agoHow do people communicate now? And why wouldn’t that be compromised?
- burnrate 6mo agoIt’s 100% to prevent citizens from becoming organized. The regime is most fearful of this.
- recroad 6mo ago[flagged]
- bigyabai 6mo agoThere's multiple motives, not just counter-organization. A media blackout prevents OSINT damage analysis, much like how the IDF and CENTCOM both censor reporting of attacks on their in-theater installations.
- Pay08 6mo agoThey could easily just censor that, especially since a dictatorship has far more control over the media compared to democracies.
- bigyabai 6mo agoThe OSINT is a bigger threat than the state media in Iran, hence the internet blackout.
- Pay08 6mo agoNo, the internet blackout is so their populace doesn't rise up against them.
- bigyabai 6mo agoSorry, but that's not the reason. This is a symmetrical response to CENTCOM and the Israeli Military Censor's policy of freezing OSINT in-theater. In any case, it's perfectly clear that the internet blackout didn't stop the protests. The protests were never going to topple the government, the CIA/Mossad needs the Kurds to fight the IRGC (and the Kurds don't want to fight).
- Pay08 6mo agoIs that why they did similar blackouts in 2019, 2022, and 2024 too?
- bigyabai 6mo agoIt absolutely could be one of the motives, I'm not a member of the IRGC so I couldn't tell you for certain. I do know that the IDF and CENTCOM have been censoring in-theater OSINT for decades, and we also know that Iran has the incentives to do the same thing with a larger population. Lacking the CIA and Mossad's censorship tools, a total shutdown is not really that unexpected.
- Pay08 6mo agoNo. What all of those dates had in common wasn't the USA or Israel, it was protests by the Iranian population. Yes, blackout to prevent OSINT is a thing. That's not why they were doing them in 2019, 2022, and 2024 and it's not why they're doing it now (seeing as it started before the war). They're doing it to suppress their population because they fear an uprising.
- bigyabai 6mo ago
- sysguest 6mo agothis well... so obvious
- xbmcuser 6mo agoI think the regime narrative is mostly made up by Americans what's the difference between any of the Arab countries from Iran. The only difference is they are not controlled by America. It the same bullshit narrative of promoting democracy but in reality it's just about pushing for a government no matter how bad as long as it supports US control.
- E-Reverance 6mo agoFYI it’s not an Arab country
- xbmcuser 6mo ago[flagged]
- tptacek 6mo agoIt's not an Arab country at all. Iranians are Persian, not Arab. Iran is low-key at war with most of the gulf Arab states.
- xbmcuser 6mo agoAnd no where in any of my statements did I call it an Arab country. I was just calling out hypocrisy of the west when realistically Iran regime is as good or bad as any of the Arab countries or even the untouchable Israel.
- csomar 6mo agoNot sure why he is being called for this (or maybe he edited his comment?) but I re-read it a couple times and he is not saying Iran is an Arab country but comparing to the other Arab countries.
- xbmcuser 6mo agoIt's normal. They can't debate the actual statement, so they talk about something irrelevant to derail the conversation.
- tokioyoyo 6mo agoHow did people organize pre-Internet times though?
- marcosdumay 6mo agoThrough social gatherings that mostly don't exist anymore.
- fgfarben 6mo agowhich is the exact same reason China bans Starlink.
- markdown 6mo agoI wonder why BYD is banned in the US. Are we afraid they'll be used to transport people to gatherings?
- SXX 6mo agoI'm not from US, but China is certainly subsidize a lot of its manufacturers to capture global markets while not giving access to it's local market to western companies. US is able to produce cars on its soil and there is no reason to give up this industry to foreign country. It's pretty sane policy.
- maxglute 6mo agoPRC gave/gives way more managed market access to US/west than vice versa, they just historically limit to JVs where foreign partners capped at 50/50% ownership. Almost every western product that's not export controlled, PRC buys, i.e. there's way more western cars / tech in PRC market via JV tax than vice versa. Versus western approach to PRC competitive goods is functionally structural exclusion. EU on open to JVs even if they're incapable of providing same we do all the work you collect cheques value add that PRC offered, but they have audacity to ask for tier1 PRC crown jewel tech while PRC took tier2 legacy western tech, and EU wants 51% lol while not being able to allocate land, build factories, mobilize 10000s workforce on a dime like PRC. Hence PRC not biting. The difference is PRC has confidence they can indigenize tech/processes and compete, so giving western companies broader access to even strategic sectors long term worthwhile, especially sectors they're behind in. West either doesn't have that confidence or understands they'll get stomped even in PRC parity/fair JV arrangement and better to lock in with protectionism that now surpass PRC protectionism, or have retarded JV asks. Which is a pretty sane policy until PRC moves past parity and extend gap despite mountains of ineffective western subsidies.
- SXX 6mo ago
- dzhiurgis 6mo agoThere's something to be said if it connects (via ethernet or via hidden eSIM) Starlink to local Iranian internet - it is hard to access otherwise. There is no doubt that CIA has access to Starlink, that's a massive amount of crucial intel right there in battlefront.
- ajewhere2 6mo ago[dead]
- rayiner 6mo agoExcept that Iran has been doing it since 2019: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_censorship_in_Iran https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_censorship_in_Iran
- ShabbyDoo 6mo agoIs Iran's domestic internet still fully operational (sans access to/from the outside world)? If so, I wouldn't think the cut-off would help much security-wise because a single Starlink terminal would allow the US/Israel domestic access.
- Pay08 6mo agoI don't think it is. At least from Iranians I've heard from, domestic internet was online for a little while but was turned off in February or so.
- tjwebbnorfolk 6mo agoThe internet is only off for those who don't have a special sim card, i.e. those who aren't associated with the IRGC.
- mullingitover 6mo agoDon’t know why you’re getting downvoted for pointing out the obvious: yes obviously the US and Israel will exploit the information system of their enemy if they can, and it’s absolutely rational to deny them the opportunity to do so.
- throwawayheui57 6mo agoShould internet and outside access be cut for people of Gaza and Lebanon too? Aren’t they targeted by Israel as well?
- t-3 6mo agoThe government of Lebanon is cooperating with Israel - it's only the southerners/Hezbollah in conflict, at least for now. The people of Gaza are cut off for the most part. The strict censorship inside Israel is what you should compare to - not as strict as a total access ban, but if you say the wrong things or take pictures of the wrong stuff you're going to prison.
- nandomrumber 6mo ago> but if you say the wrong things or take pictures of the wrong stuff you're going to prison. That’s true in most counties. And for good reason. Israel is tiny, and has a population of 10.1 million. And a fair amount of military firepower. You probably shouldn’t be taking photos of, say, Iron Dome equipment locations.
- Pay08 6mo agoThe ARMA 3 devs actually almost went to prison for photographing military installations.
- mullingitover 6mo agoMy point is that the people of Iran aren’t the target of the disruption. Remember when Ukraine used the Russian cellular internet to operate drones that destroyed numerous Russian heavy bomber aircraft? That’s what the US/Israel would logically be expected to do if there were wide open internet access in Iran. This is obvious game theory playing out militarily, people only see political suppression but warfare is a totally different ballgame. If China were waging large scale war on the US I’d expect the exact same countermeasures to happen.
- adam_arthur 6mo agoThe blackout started back in January before the US even got involved. Due to widespread protests and an attempt to crack down on coordination. This chain of events was widely reported. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Internet_blackout_in_Iran https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Internet_blackout_in_Iran
- Ancapistani 6mo agoIt definitely ramped up with the invasion. I watched the webcam streams go dark.
- Mikhail_Edoshin 6mo agoBefore the US started an open war. US has been involved in a relentless anti-Iranian campaign since before I was born (I'm 55).
- throwawayheui57 6mo agoIt’s defensive indeed! It’s defense against the people whom the regime is most afraid of!
- deleted 6mo ago[deleted]