Authorities in Tehran have set forth conditions for the continued activity of Telegram, the popular messaging app with over 40 million Iranian users, to tighten rules governing similar online services.
The new development comes after a protracted wrangle over the fate of Telegram and its foreign peers with enormous publicity given to local apps and a “departure to local services” agenda advocated by officials.
The Committee for Determining Instances of Criminal Content, a working group under the supervision of the attorney general, has laid down five terms Telegram and other foreign messaging apps must meet, ISNA reported.
Abdolsamad Khoramabadi, secretary of the CDICC, spelled out the details of the regulations imposed on foreign messaging apps, saying that they are not allowed to operate inside the country unless they acquire a license from the ICT Ministry.
Other terms are: Telegram (and other foreign apps) must store and process Iranian user data within the borders of the country, must not grant foreigners access to consumer data, must protect user privacy and also have an official representative with plenipotentiary powers residing in Iran to answer inquiries from judicial authorities.
Khoramabadi noted that foreign apps must remove criminal content on their platforms.
“Of course, the responsibility for publishing criminal content rests on the shoulders of the user; however, if the messenger app knowingly proceeds to offer services to offenders, they can be prosecuted and held liable.”
Authorities are one by one announcing leaving Telegram to join local apps such as Soroush, iGap and Wispi.
The first vice president’s official Telegram channel on Wednesday issued a statement about signing out of Telegram to join domestic apps. Many more authorities followed suit.
The country’s officials seem to have mobilized all resources to break the supposed monopoly of Telegram across the country and level the playing field for local firms.
Incentives
ICT Minister Mohammad Javad Azari-Jahromi has given an account of the resources devoted to promoting local apps.
“Low-interest loans are granted to homegrown messaging apps and inexpensive Internet packages are provided for consumers using such services.”
Azari-Jahromi says local messaging apps are private entities that should try to gain the public’s trust on their own by offering quality services.
The minister is of the opinion that the public needs reassurances in regard to privacy and protection against prosecution before they can place their trust in local programs.
He also maintains that the law needs to accommodate justified public demands, stressing that “the Leader’s decree concerning online privacy has facilitated the work of founders of homegrown apps to resist disclosing information to unauthorized inquirers.”
Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei called on authorities last week to uphold “people’s security and privacy” in their attempts to localize social networking and messaging apps, warning that any infringement would be tantamount to a “religiously forbidden act”.
Economic Impact
Telegram is used by thousands of individuals and online businesses for trading goods and offering services. Many have questioned the soundness of a ban on Telegram considering the economic impact of the move.
Secretary of High Council of Cyberspace Abolhassan Firouzabadi says the government is prepared to offer unemployment insurance to businesses which will suffer loss by taking leave of Telegram.
Firouzabadi says at any moment an unforeseen set of circumstances can bring about the blocking of Telegram, but there are currently no dates set for it.
The secretary pointed to the negligible number of people using local messaging apps and said, “We have invited many businesses and institutes to switch to domestic apps.”
Earlier on Monday, the Education Ministry issued a directive forbidding schools from using foreign-based apps, including Telegram, Instagram and WhatsApp, to share information.
Government institutions are utilizing their influence to prompt the people to turn to local messaging programs.
However, many have cited questions about privacy and security of the homegrown apps saying they are reluctant to use them.
Universal Question of Privacy
Privacy concerns are not exclusive to Iranians. In 2014, German users switched from WhatsApp to Threema, an end-to-end encrypted instant messaging app, to protect their data after WhatsApp was acquired by Facebook.
Few days ago Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was questioned by the US Congress after news broke that Facebook has sold information to Cambridge Analytica, a political consulting firm that gained access to data about up to 87 million Facebook users.
The issue has raised questions about user privacy with the public doubting if anything online can be trusted to remain private.
Cynical outlooks that distrust any online content are gaining momentum worldwide.
Some believe that regardless of how careful we are with our online behavior and how many encryption layers and VPNs we use to shield our privacy, when those with influence and power decide to read our communications, they will.
