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| Cristiano Ronaldo Image via Facebook/Cristiano Ronaldo |
Iran is considering giving Cristiano Ronaldo and other foreign football players who will soon travel to Tehran a special SIM card allowing them to access the internet without restrictions, something Iranian citizens cannot do. This has angered some Iranians, who argue that it would be an insult and discrimination to offer Ronaldo services that citizens cannot access. Reza Darvish, the president of Persepolis FC, the football club that will face Ronaldo's Al Nassr in an AFC Champions League tie next week in Tehran, told state television on Tuesday that some people "who want to tarnish our reputation" tell footballers not to come to Iran because they won't have access to unfiltered internet.
The internet in Iran is heavily restricted, with tens of thousands of websites and all major global messaging and social media platforms blocked. The restrictions were only significantly ramped up after mid-September 2022 when the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody sparked protests across the country that lasted for months. Authorities argued that foreign platforms, which cannot be locally supervised, were being used to endanger the country's national security as foreign powers were accused of supporting "riots" across Iran. WhatsApp and Instagram, the last two major unfiltered platforms in Iran, were also blocked.
Tens of millions of Iranians regularly use virtual private networks (VPNs) that mask users' location to circumvent local restrictions. Still, the authorities have heavily clamped down on these tools since last year. Users now often have to resort to using several VPNs and switching connections regularly amid the restrictions, a time and energy-consuming process that also drives up the cost of using the internet. Since last year, authorities have maintained that they will only unblock major foreign apps when their parent companies agree to open offices in Iran and position permanent representatives who would answer state inquiries when needed. No company has acceded to this demand so far.
As the anniversary of the protests approaches, internet observatory NetBlocks reported internet disruptions this week. Still, Information and Communications Technology Minister Issa Zarepour said disorders were due to upgrades to the network. Tourism minister Ezzatollah Zarghami joked that Ronaldo would have to use local messaging services to contact his family back home. However, the news has not been well-received by many Iranians online, who argue that Ronaldo doesn't deserve more rights and services than Iranians in their own country.
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA
