Iran’s Minister of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Seyed Sattar Hashemi warned about social consequences of Internet restrictions leading to despair of the youth and migration of the elite.
Speaking at the open session of the Parliament on Tuesday, he
said: We cannot blindly confront technology. Connection to the global Internet
is an essential component of our national information network.
During a Question and Answer session on the performance of
this ministry in the 12-day war of the Israeli regime’s aggression against Iran, Hashemi warned about the social
consequences of Internet restrictions, emphasizing the use of the capacity of
the elite to advance the digital economy.
He also made statements about the ICT Ministry’s successful
confrontation with complex cyber attacks, the need to review the governance of
cyberspace, the impact of VPNs on the quality of the network, and plans for the
balanced development of rural communications, and,
Referring to the synergy between agencies in combating cyber
attacks, the minister said, “In this war, the country faced complex and
unprecedented attacks from a serious enemy, and a series of sincere measures in
the field of cybersecurity prevented widespread disruption of services.”
“The country’s cybersecurity has never been abandoned and
there is a clear division of labor between institutions; although we need to
upgrade and use the lessons learned from the war,” he added, saying that the damage of the war was inevitable.
To a question, he stated that a section of the decrease in
network quality is due to widespread contamination due to the use of VPNs to
circumvent restrictions and said, "At least 30 percent of user requests on
the network remain unanswered due to this contamination."
Hashemi pointed to the ICT Ministry’s focus on content
production and said: "Domestic content production has always been
emphasized by the Supreme Leader. We have also taken serious steps in this
direction by approving the content revenue sharing document."
He defended the development of technology in the country, and
said, "We cannot blindly confront technology. We must use the capacity of
technology for progress. This issue has been included in our programs,
especially in the development of the National Information Network."
About communication coverage in rural areas, he said, “In
President Pezeshkian’s government, more than 1,200 villages have been
connected to high-speed Internet. Our goal is to provide high-quality coverage
for 10,000 villages by the end of the program, and the necessary resources have
also been foreseen for this purpose.”
Citing the role of the private sector in advancing the objectives
of the national information network, Hashemi said, “In many areas, from the health
and retail to electronic banking, we have been able to move ahead of schedule
by relying on the private sector. This approach will continue.”
In the final part of his remarks, he warned about the social
effects of Internet restrictions, saying, “Creating restrictions and a decline
in network quality could affect the lives of about 10 million people who are
directly and indirectly dependent on the digital economy. If the country’s
elites are ignored, the risk of their migration will become a security issue.”
"We are committed to using the capacity of the elite to
advance the country on the path of developing technology and digital services
and not allowing the hope of the youth to be harmed," Hashemi concluded.