Never Again: Defending the Internet as a Lifeline
Iran has been in an almost complete communications shutdown for the past 21 days. Connectivity is not restored until our most vulnerable can connect with their loved ones and access services that they need. If you want to follow the atrocities that are happening and the technical sabotage of the Internet you can refer to Miaan.com, and Doug Madory’s pieces on this.
We have initiated a collective letter addressed to the international Internet community, the ITU, and the United Nations to confront the ways in which “digital sovereignty” is being misused to justify repression, shutdowns, and the silencing of populations. The letter calls on international institutions and governments to clearly condemn these practices and to move beyond rhetoric by supporting practical, people-centered solutions specifically, the active protection and development of resilient, open communication infrastructures that cannot be disabled at the convenience of nation states.
In the face of this tragedy, we hope this effort helps refocus the international community on a fundamental truth: the Internet is not a luxury or a geopolitical bargaining chip—it is a lifeline, and it must be defended as such.
And once again the Iranian community through its resilience helps us not forget how much freedom and unfettered access to a global Internet matter. The Internet and international community have not advocated for use of satellite Internet enough and caved into the narratives of sovereignty and thought multistakeholder projects can look after this one too and solve things at ITU and bring people anywhere in the world this essential technology that is the last hope for people when their government shuts down the Internet.
Never again.
We have raised serious concerns about this process with the ITU. When the Islamic Republic submitted claims to the ITU Radio Regulations Board characterizing the shutdown as “proportionate” and alleging that “terrorists use Starlink,” we responded with a detailed letter challenging these assertions and requesting participation in the proceedings. Our request to be included was denied.
This raises fundamental questions about how international institutions handle shutdowns affecting millions of people. When governments justify cutting off entire populations from communication, civil society voices defending those populations’ right to connect must be heard, not excluded from the process. We continue to engage with the ITU and hope they will reconsider their approach to these proceedings.
It is my mission in life to protect and defend unfettered access to the Internet and digital technologies. The Internet is for everyone and I may have failed my mission a few times and this time for people who are so close to me and as we say in Farsi “Pareye Tan”. But I will not back down. People who have long abandoned their beliefs in an open global Internet for nation states control should take a lesson here.
We will advocate for bringing satellite Internet to everyone and we will protect and defend the Internet and provide shut-down proof alternatives and I encourage the global technical community not to be silent in the face of such atrocities.
The Internet sabotage in Iran is a global issue. Let’s get together and fix this.