The damage inflicted on Iran’s economy at this particular time (nationwide internet shutdown in response to protests) is estimated to stand at $1.5 million or 450 billion rials per hour, according to the latest statistics by NetBlocks, a watchdog organization that monitors cybersecurity and internet governance.
The Research Department of the Iranian National Tax Administration has put the losses at 10,800 billion rials per day, Mohammad Mehdi Mazrouei, an economic expert, prefaced his write-up for the Persian daily Shargh with these figures. A translation of the text follows:
Forty million Iranians are active on Instagram and according to the Statistical Center of Iran, up to 10 million out of 11 million of online businesses use Instagram, either directly or indirectly. Many of them are home-based businesses, traditional businesses and those active in the services sector. They use Instagram to promote their business and sell their products.
This year has been named as the year of supporting knowledge-based companies; many knowledge-based companies depend on the use of cyberspace to survive. Now the question is whether the interruption of the internet and the blocking of Instagram will make these businesses prosper or destroy them in the year that the government has pledged to create one million jobs for the youth.
The damage caused by the internet blackout is not only in terms of the local currency; with the disruption in the systems, the natural and logical routine of technological infrastructures is manipulated. It creates holes for hackers to penetrate into the systems, that’s exactly what happened in the last few days at the most secure executive agencies. Numbers show that losses inflicted on the economy as a result of the internet disconnection equals that of the income from the sale of oil in one year.
In a statement, the Iranian E-Commerce Association warned that 400,000 businesses are now on the brink of collapse as a result of the internet outage. The income of 10 million Iranians, the statement said, depends on the internet and this platform [Instagram]; the livelihoods of these people are on the line.
As Iran’s economic growth has been close to zero in the past decade, such an ill-advised action is not only irreparable, but could give rise to an economic disaster.
By cutting off the internet and blocking the virtual space, the handiwork of the weak economic team of the government of Ebrahim Raisi would be ruined, while also casting a shadow on the education system. In fact, such actions will offset the positive effects of all investment made in Iranian platforms following the outbreak of Covid-19.
Also bear in mind that domestic platforms cannot compete with foreign counterparts. Huge investments made to develop such unnecessary platforms could have been spent on improving the livelihoods of people and meet their basic needs.
