Iran blocks WhatsApp and Instagram as Mahsa Amini demonstrations intensify

• Protests are being held.
• There has been a murder of a woman in police custody.
• Iran restricts access to Instagram and WhatsApp.

In response to protests over the murder of a woman in police custody, Iran has reportedly restricted access to Instagram and WhatsApp, according to locals and internet monitor NetBlocks.

Additionally, there were widespread reports of significant internet failures, with one of the main mobile phone companies being interrupted and taking millions of Iranians offline.

The death of Mahsa Amini, 22, last week after she was detained by morality police in Tehran for wearing “unsuitable dress” has sparked outrage over a variety of topics, including freedom in the Islamic Republic and a faltering economy due to sanctions.

According to Iranian media and officials, at least six protestors have already been murdered, along with a police officer and two militiamen who support the government. Activist organizations assert that there are more fatalities.

Additionally, the leading mobile phone carrier in Iran and the network of another company experienced a “nation-scale loss of connectivity,” according to NetBlocks.

Hours after Instagram’s services were disabled, various internet service providers affected WhatsApp’s servers, according to London-based NetBlocks.

The group’s data shows a near-total disruption to internet service in parts of Kurdistan province in western Iran since Monday, while the capital city of Tehran and other parts of the country have also faced disruptions since Friday, when protests first broke out.

Two citizens of Tehran and southern Iran reported that Instagram appeared to be entirely prohibited and that they could only send text messages on WhatsApp, not photographs.

Both are among the few remaining social media networks and are owned by Meta, the parent corporation of Facebook. According to NetBlocks, the outages were the “most severe” since the government temporarily shut down the internet in 2019 to assist quell gasoline protests.

Without internet connectivity, it is more difficult for people to upload videos to social media in order to garner support for their cause or find trustworthy news sources.

The turmoil this month has been especially severe in Amini’s native province of northwest Kurdistan.

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⚠️ #Iran is now subject to the most severe internet restrictions since the November 2019 massacre.

▶️ Mobile networks largely shut down (MCI, Rightel, Irancell – partial)
▶️ Regional disruptions observed during protests
▶️ Instagram, WhatsApp restrictedhttps://t.co/8cCHIJA2Oi

— NetBlocks (@netblocks) September 21, 2022

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