The Minister of Information and Communication Technology Seyed Sattar Hashemi reiterated establishing an equilibrium among the security considerations, development of the digital economy, and public’s rights.
He made the statement in an article in the Iran Newspaper on Sunday
to mark the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day, in which he
also praised the ICT Ministry’s staff for the country’s stable communication
network during the Israel-US aggression of Iran.
In his opinion note, Hashemi also reiterated the significance
of digital resilience and sustainability of digital lifelines as a
pre-condition to the country's development.
The full text of the ICT Minister's article follows:
“This year, the World Telecommunication and Information
Society Day is commemorated with a theme that more than ever overlaps with the
lived experience of these days in Iran: Digital Lifelines: Strengthening
Resilience in a Connected World. It reminds us that communications are no
longer just a technological tool or a side service, but the backbone of daily
life, the economy, education, health, security, governance and resilience of
countries.
Today, communication networks, submarine cables, data centers,
satellites and digital infrastructure play the same role that roads, railways
and electricity once played. Therefore, any widespread disruption in these
lifelines affects not only communications, but also the economic and social
life of countries.
This year, the World Telecommunication Day is not only a
calendar event for us, but also an opportunity to review the covenants,
experiences, difficulties and responsibilities we have towards the people and
the digital future of the country.
From the first day of its operation, the Government of
President Pezeshkian believed that equitable, sustainable and
non-discriminatory access to communications is a natural and universal right.
Accordingly, since the beginning of the government's term,
the majority of the expert, managerial, and executive capacity of the ICT
Ministry was devoted to efforts to reduce restrictions, remove blockages, and
restore stability to the country's communication area -- an approach that
subsequently led to the removal of some of the restrictions. The experience of
previous years had shown that some restrictions not only did not lead to the
expected goals, but in some cases also caused insecurity in infrastructure, the
spread of the use of unsafe tools, and increased the vulnerability of users and
the country's communication networks.
This path was moving forward within the framework of the
government's consensus-based approach and with dialogue and coordination
between various institutions when the country faced completely different
conditions and outside the normal process. Two military invasions and an internal
turmoil put the country in special and complicated conditions, and at three
points, the country faced widespread disruption and shut-down of the Internet
and communications.
Undoubtedly, there is no director who wants his or her term
of office to coincide with such conditions and crises. Confronting the concerns
of the people, the heavy pressure on businesses, the concerns of digital
economy activists, the difficulty of maintaining the stability of the country's
vital networks, and at the same time the considerations of the responsible
institutions in war conditions, have led to the most difficult and complicated
days that the country's communication sector has ever experienced.
Meanwhile, the internet shut-down, which is directly linked
to public rights and people's daily lives, has caused many of the services and
round-the-clock efforts of the large ICT family to be sidelined. However, during
these difficult days, the country's internal communication networks, banking,
medical, postal, administrative, educational services, and vital digital
infrastructures remained active with the highest possible level of stability.
The round-the-clock efforts of specialists, operators, engineers, and employees
in the communication sector, even in circumstances where our colleagues were
exposed to the threat of enemy bombs and missiles and some of their dearest ones
were martyred or injured, prevented the emergence of wider economic, social,
and service crises.
Nevertheless, the ICT Ministry has never stopped and will
never stop. Our mission remains to develop communication infrastructure, expand
access without discrimination, increase the quality of services, and reduce the
digital divide across the country.
We continue to believe that the right policy is neither digital
isolation nor absolute dependence, rather the smart and balanced development
based on national interests. World experience has also shown that erosive and
absolutist dichotomies such as open or closed, internal or external, and independence
or interaction are not solutions to complex cyber governance issues. Just as
the classification of society in terms of access to the Internet cannot be a
sustainable basis for balanced and accelerated digital development.
Today, more than ever, we need coherent, coordinated, and
predictable governance in cyberspace that can create a balance between
security, digital economy development, public rights, and social satisfaction.
In this context, the recent order of President Pezeshkian to
form a Special Headquarters for Organizing and Leading the Country’s Cyberspace
should be considered an effort to strengthen coordination and
consensus-building in the field of cyberspace governance. It is a move to create
a sustainable bridge between the requirements of cyber governance, the
development of the digital economy and the general demands of society.
Finally, by commemorating the World Telecommunication Day, I
emphasize that this year, more than ever, we are faced with the fact that the
future of countries will be determined by the development of communication,
mutual understanding of the needs of stakeholders and the sustainability of
digital lifelines.
This year, the World Telecommunication Day reminds us more
than ever that communications are no longer just a technological tool. They are
part of the right to life, the right to work, the right to education and the
right to progress in today's world.
Iran's bright future will not be achieved through disruption
and reactive decisions, but through smart governance, sustainable
infrastructure, public trust, as well as the secure and interactive
connectivity with the world, God willing.”