Social media plays 'extremely important' role in Iranian protests despite censorship

Since the 2009 Green Movement protests in Iran,internetconnections havegrownsignificantly, which is whysocial media is likelyplaying an important role in the anti-government demonstrations rocking the country.

"I believe that has made a tremendous difference between now and then," saidHadiGhaemi, executive director for the New York-basedCenterfor Human Rights in Iran. "One difference between now and 2009 is that almost the whole nation is now plugged online.

"I think for these protests it's extremely important."

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MahsaAlimardani, an Iranian-Canadian internet researcher, said many Iranians used Twitterduring the protests over a disputed electionin 2009, mainlyto communicate to the outside world. This time Iranians are using social media to communicate with each other.

"It's no exaggeration to say that this time, technology really is playing a central role in allowing people to organize, share information with each other," Alimardani wrote in a column for Politico.

The protests began Thursday in Mashhad and have expanded to several cities. Hundreds of people have been arrested and at least21 have been killed.

Meanwhile,Iranian authorities have sought to suppress the protests in part by shutting down key social media sites protesters use to communicate, including Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Telegram.

'Played a huge role'

"When you think about the events last weekend inMashhadand how quickly they were followed up the next day in dozens of far and near cities of Mashhad,one can only surmise that social media played a huge role indisseminatingthat news and motivating other protesters to be out there within24 hours,"Ghaemisaid.

He said these are small networks of peoplesharing and disseminating the news, not one large outlet that has many followers.

"Iwouldn't pin it down on one or two or three particular channels," he said. "I think it's really just people talking to their own circles and communicatingwith them."

Going viral

"To me this is the meaning of going viral. The protest in Mashhad went viral."

The social media app that likely played the biggest role in fostering communication is Telegram, used for communicating encrypted messages, sharingfiles and videoswith friends and family, and receiving news reports and updates

It has become the social media platform of choice for Iranians, with an estimated 40 million users out of a population of 80 million.

The use of the app exploded, saysGhaemi, shortly after Iranians got access to 3G and 4G services. It may be surprising that the regime, so intent on censoring and restricting information, would allow such services into Iran.ButGhaemisaid with Iranneeding to be part of the digital economy, the government really had nochoice.

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Nowmany Iranian companiesare dependent on Telegram for doing business, meaning the clampdown will have a negative economic impact, he said.

"There's really been such a huge backlash throughout the country because something like Telegram has become very essential to the social economic fabric," he said.

AlimardanitoldCBC'sThe Current thatthe Iranian government reached out to Telegramand asked for curbs to be put in place.

When the company stopped responding, the government shut down and blocked the only uncensored foreign media platforms, Telegram and Instagram. Disruptions to generalinternetservices followed.

"We can't really know what the effect or the significance of Telegram is for these particular protests, but we can gauge the reaction of the authorities," she said. "Telegram has been popular since 2015, but it's only been in the past few days that they've been really cracking down, becoming sensitive toward it."

Backdoor software

Even before this crackdown, many Iranianswere using backdoor software and virtual private networks (VPNs) to circumvent censorship.

"Iranians have been living under censorship and the prospect of surveillance for years, so I think they're very tech-savvy," Alimardanisaid.

But the recent restrictions will hamper the ability of large groups of people to communicate,Ghaemisaid.

"Not everybody is technically savvyenough to usethe software to bypass [the censorship]," he said.