Contradictions in Internet Policies: Lifting Restrictions or Strengthening Censorship?
The CEO of the Telecommunications Infrastructure Company (TIC) recently stated: “Currently, the country’s communication infrastructure is fully prepared for any removal of internet restrictions.”
However, as of December 21, the firewall of the Telecommunications Infrastructure Company (and Asiatech) has undergone seasonal updates. These updates include:
Synchronizing the lists of blacklisted, graylisted, and whitelisted IPs with other operators.
Implementing new restrictions on foreign IPs, similar to the past operations of Mobile Telecommunication Company’s (MCI) firewall. Previously, the infrastructure blocked foreign IPs between 4 and 6 a.m. (UTC+3:30). to the extent that even pings were unresponsive, and ICMP protocols experienced severe disruptions. Now, these restrictions have extended to midday hours and are being applied with an intensity reminiscent of pre-November policies, although MCI’s primary firewall remains inactive.
Targeting encrypted traffic, such as protocols like VMESS and ShadowSocks. Detecting such encrypted traffic requires significant processing power, leading to higher energy consumption and additional strain on infrastructure equipment (DPI systems). These measures affect network performance and significantly increase latency across operators and networks, resulting in a noticeable decline in internet quality, especially during peak usage hours.
It remains to be seen whether this enhanced infrastructure will truly serve the purpose of lifting restrictions or if it is designed to make censorship smarter and more comprehensive.
Perhaps the future will reveal that the “preparedness to lift restrictions” was merely a precursor to rolling out even stricter measures.
Behzad Akbari, TIC CEO.