Iran pushes ahead with internet 'protection' bill
The revival of a controversial bill in Iran seeks to limit the country’s access to the internet.
Iranian members of parliament have pushed ahead a controversial bill that would essentially cut off most Iranians from the internet and hand over the country’s internet infrastructure to the armed forces.
On Feb. 22, a special parliamentary committee approved the general outline of the “Bill to Protect Users in Cyberspace,” first introduced three years ago. Last July, members of parliament attempted to push through the bill but decided to pull back after widespread criticism.
Jalal Rashidi Koochi, a member of the special committee and the only member to vote against the ratification of the outline, began gathering signatures in parliament to return the bill to open session. So far he has collected 150 signatures. There are 290 members total in Iran’s parliament.
Reformist Arman Daily wrote that ever since the bill was introduced, there has been widespread criticism, especially over concerns that it would adversely impact businesses, violate the rights of citizens and infringe of the privacy of internet users.
