Iran's Internet blackout continues, despite a temporary resurgence, says a digital rights watchdog, as a state-aligned news agency claims the country's access to the Internet will be restored by tonight.
"Iran's Internet blackout continues into its third week, despite a brief momentary restoration," Netblocks, a digital rights watchdog and connectivity monitoring organization, said in apost on Xon January 24.
"Online platforms are occasionally whitelisted, and some users have been able to tunnel out [using VPNs or other circumvention tools] over the last couple of days," it added.
A day earlier, the Fars news agency, which is close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), reported on January 23 that international Internet access would be "fully restored in all provinces of the country" by tonight.
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Iran's near-total nationwide digital blackout -- ongoing since January 8 -- is thought to be one of the longest in history. Only Sudan'scomplete shutdownfollowing its October 2021 coup, which lasted about 25 days, is known to have lasted longer.
Human rights groups say Tehran's move to cut access to the Internet was intended to conceal human rights violations by Iran's security forces.
Others add that the blackout has limited protesters ability to organize and resist, while severely restricting the flow of news and making independent verification of information difficult.
