Iran’s communication blackout is different to what we’ve seen before – but could Elon Musk help to bypass it?
The Iranian government has a history of shutting down the internet during protests as a way of controlling the flow of information.
In the past, however, those shutdowns have been a blunt instrument, restricting all access to the internet. This time, the blackout seems more precise.
Iranian officials are still posting online and the state-backed media agency IRIB published a list on Monday morning of unblocked sites available to the public.
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They include a small number of sites like domestic search engines, map apps, entertainment sites and state-backed news agencies.
Filterbaan, a digital rights group that focuses on Iran, said on X that even though the sites on the list hadn’t been independently verified as working, “this very list indicates that the government does not intend to return the internet to its pre-protest status”.
The lockdown started on Thursday and Iranians living outside the country told Sky News they’ve been unable to contact family members since then.
For the first time, the Iranian government also managed to shut down Starlink connections.
Starlink, a network of low Earth orbit satellites operated by Mr Musk’s SpaceX, were used during the 2022 protests over the death of Mahsa Amini to keep communication flowing amid an internet blackout.
Although Starlink devices can’t register in Iran, the network has been regularly used in the country for years.
On Thursday, that usage dropped out, just like regular internet use.
One group working to distribute Starlinks across Iran, however, posted on X to say it was working with the company’s engineers to overcome the blocks.
“The interference and Packet Loss status in Tehran has significantly improved, reducing from about 35% to nearly 10%,” posted the NasNet team on Saturday night.
“If you are in Tehran and still facing issues, be sure to install last night’s updates.
“The interference issue is an ongoing game of cat and mouse; therefore, conditions may change again or even worsen. Nevertheless, we will not stop our efforts.”
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President Donald Trump has also told reporters he would speak to Mr Musk about restoring the internet in Iran.
“He’s very good at that kind of thing, he’s got a very good company,” he said on Sunday.
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A map showing hotspots of GPS jamming showed significant jamming around Tehran on Thursday.
In the past, NasNet advised Starlink users to change their settings to avoid “jamming and intentional interference by the government in the GPS system”.
