Averse to the most basic of political and human freedoms, Iran’s theocracy is tightening the grip on internet freedoms. Maryam Mirza had this information in Deutsche Welle. Here is an excerpt:

More than two years after a weeklong total shutdown of the internet in Iran, Iran’s parliament, known as the Majlis, has now said that it will send the Protection Bill, known in Persian as the Tarh-e Sianat, to the Guardian Council by February 20, paving the way for the imposition of more restrictions than ever before on the internet in Iran.

One of the constitutional mandates of the Guardian Council, an appointed body that is perceived as an obstacle to democracy in Iran, is to vet legislation. If the Council finds that a piece of legislation does not comply with sharia law or the constitution then it will return it to the Majlis with revisions. Otherwise, the approved bill is considered to be finalized in law.

While details of the latest version of the Protection Bill are not transparent, lots of internet users, political figures and existing startups in Iran, as well as internet freedom activists and international organizations, have raised the alarm based on the content of a draft version of the bill that was released last year.

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