According to state media, Iran’s highest internet security council decided Tuesday to relax a ban on the widely used messaging program WhatsApp, which has been restricted for more than two years.
“The ban on WhatsApp and Google Play was removed by unanimous vote of the members of the Supreme Council of Cyberspace,” the official IRNA news agency said.
The council is headed by the president and its members include the parliament speaker, the head of the judiciary and several ministers.
“Today, we took the first step towards lifting internet restrictions with unanimity and consensus,” Minister of Communications Sattar Hashemi said on X.
The decision’s effective date was not immediately apparent.
Iran is debating the move, with those opposed to the restrictions claiming the curbs were expensive for the nation.
“The restrictions have achieved nothing but anger and added costs to people’s lives,” presidential adviser Ali Rabiei said on X Tuesday.
“President Masoud Pezeshkian believes in removing restrictions and does not consider the bans to be in the interest of the people and the country. All experts also believe that this issue is not beneficial to the country’s security,” Vice President Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Tuesday.
However, others cautioned against removing the limitations.
136 members of the 290-member parliament wrote to the council on Tuesday, claiming that the action would be a “gift to (Iran’s) enemies,” according to the reformist Shargh daily.
Access to restricted online platforms should only be granted “if they are committed to the values of Islamic society and comply with the laws of” Iran, according to the MPs.
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