How Domestic Messaging Apps Remain A Threat to Digital Rights In Iran

In Iran, internet users frequently see and feel the effects when their government undermines human rights online. Just over one year ago, Iranian authorities imposed a weeks-long internet shutdown to provide cover for the violent suppression of nationwide protests. Since then, the government has worked to expand its "National Information Network", and to further limit users' rights online. 

But state authorities are not the only ones responsible for upholding citizens' rights online. In Iran, technology platforms have a crucial role to play in upholding their users' rights to freedom of expression and privacy, and few more so than messaging apps. With many foreign services driven out of the market by state filtering and international sanctions, a sector of domestic messaging apps has sprung up to fill the void. It is crucial that these companies are held to account for their policies' human rights impacts. 

That’s why FilterWatch released a new report, "Digital Rights and Technology Sector Accountability in Iran: The Case of Messaging Apps". It assesses the disclosed policies and practices of the messaging services used on a daily basis by Iranian internet users. 

FilterWatch assessed four “domestic” Iranian messaging services (Soroush, Gap, Bale, BisPhone) and two of their foreign counterparts (WhatsApp, Telegram). The report explores how domestic and international tech companies have helped to shape the evolution of digital rights in Iran. It uses an adapted version of the Ranking Digital Rights Corporate Accountability Index's methodology.

Want to find out more? Read the report or visit FilterWatch’s new website. It's available in English and Persian. You can follow FilterWatch on Medium.