More than 3,000 Telegram channels with over 5,000 members have registered their details with the Ministry of Culture following an announcement by the government in January.
An estimated 11,000 channels created by Iranian users have over 5,000 members, local tech website ICTNA quoted Culture Minister Reza Salehi Amiri as saying.
He added that the ministry will not be responsible for filtering the content. A separate filtering committee will be created and the High Council of Cyberspace will be the body to deal with the issue.
The measure is necessary as the goal of the ministry is to uphold data security, the minister said.
Early in January, administrators of channels “and similar services on social media” which have 5,000 or more followers, were asked to register their identity with the Ministry of Culture.
Telecoms Minister Mahmoud Vaezi had said that the measure aims to stop the spread of “fake news.”
An estimated 45 million Iranians actively use Telegram messenger.
Add new comment
Read our comment policy before posting your viewpoints