People of Iran will be able to use WhatsApp and Google Play Store again, know when and why the ban was imposed…

New Delhi:- The government of Iran announced on Tuesday that it has lifted the two-year ban on WhatsApp and Google Play Store. This step of the Iranian government is an important step towards removing many restrictions on the use of social media and internet in their country.

According to the information given by the official Islamic Republic News Agency, Iranian President Masoud Pejeshkian and many other top government officials of the country together held a meeting in which it was decided to lift the ban on WhatsApp and Google Play Store.

WhatsApp and Google Play ban lifted in Iran

Iran's Information and Communication Minister Sattar Hashemi stressed that this decision is the result of different departments of the government working together to understand the need for Internet in the country. Sattar Hashmi wrote in his post on 'X' (old name Twitter) that this is the “first step” towards removing further restrictions. With this, there is hope of getting relief in internet access in future.

After the Iranian government lifted the ban on WhatsApp and Google Play Store, some people there have expressed their reactions on social media. According to users, they have regained access to these platforms, but they are not yet able to fully use all their functions and it may take some time.

Let us tell you that this step of removing the ban on WhatsApp and Google Play Store in Iran is one of the election promises of the new President Pezheshkian. During the presidential elections, he had also kept digital freedom in the list of his promises. He said that he will promote digital freedom in Iran. Now they have restarted the services of WhatsApp and Google Play Store in the country and Iranian officials have also said that they will try to bring back foreign services along with promoting local platforms. In such a situation, it now seems that in view of the increasing demand of the people in the country, the Iranian government, along with improving the digital conditions, is also trying to give them access to global communication tools.

History of Internet Censorship

WhatsApp and Google Play Store were banned in Iran in 2022 when massive protests started across the country after the death of Mahsa Amini. Mahsa Amini was arrested by Iran's morality police because she was allegedly violating Iran's strict dress code law. After her death, there were strong demonstrations in Iran against women's rights and government policies, which soon turned into a mass movement. The government took several stringent measures to suppress these protests, restrict the flow of information, and control contact between citizens, including limiting internet services, banning several major social media platforms such as WhatsApp and the Google Play Store. Was.

The history of internet censorship in Iran is quite old. Before WhatsApp, popular social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube were also banned in 2009. However, people of Iran often use Virtual Private Network i.e. VPN to use these social media platforms. In such a situation, the people of Iran may like the initiative taken by the new President of Iran to reduce or eliminate social media restrictions.

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