Iran world's second-worst country for internet censorship in 2022

Iran was the second place in the world for internet censorship in 2022 after repeatedly shutting off the internet in parts of the country and blocking access to social media platforms to curb protests coming after Mahsa Amini’s death, a new poll has shown.

As anti-regime demonstrations spilt onto the internet and social media, with videos of women burning their hijabs going viral, Iran responded by repeated internet blackouts and the shutdown of mobile networks across the capital of Tehran and other parts of the county, Al Arabiya English informs.

This led to Iran being placed second on the list of the world’s worst countries for internet censorship last year, according to research by internet watchdog Surfshark published on January 23.

Its internet censorship yearly recap shows around half the world’s population – about 4.2 billion - suffered a politically motivated internet blackout in 2022.

Nineteen countries imposed fresh restrictions on citizens’ use of the web last year, bringing the total of nations engaged in such repressive measures to 32.

As far as regions go, Asia led the poll comprising the most countries that introduced repressive internet measures last year.

The Jammu & Kashmir region in India imposed the largest number of interest restrictions the poll said.

In Iran, its censorship actions arose after the death in police custody of Amini, who was arrested for being "inappropriately dressed" under the nation’s repressive Islamic law, which sparked public outrage.