Iran’s decision to start curtailing usage of a popular foreign instant messaging app has prompted Iranian fans of the service to say they will defy government efforts to push them into using domestic apps.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s office said Wednesday he has stopped using the Telegram app, citing his desire to protect national security. Iranian state media said President Hassan Rouhani also banned all government bodies from using the encrypted messaging service.
Published reports say Telegram has about 40 million users in Iran, about half of the population. Fans of the app who spoke to VOA Persian’s Straight Talk call-in show Wednesday said that if the government imposes a total ban on Telegram, as some lawmakers have demanded, they will find other ways to access it. Many Iranians used virtual private networks (VPNs) and other tools to bypass government blockages of digital media and communication services.
Some callers accused the Iranian government of trying to restrict freedom of speech and access to information. Iran temporarily blocked Telegram during a wave of anti-government protests around the country in late December and early January, saying people were using it to fuel the unrest.
Iranian leaders have been promoting domestic messaging apps such as Soroush as an alternative to Telegram, but have faced skepticism from Iranians who fear the government will monitor those apps.
One Straight Talk caller who identified himself as Naser from the northern province of Gilan said he will not use any government-approved messaging services if Telegram is blocked because he does not trust them.
Khamenei tried to address those concerns last week, issuing a statement saying it is religiously forbidden for authorities to invade the privacy of citizens.
Other callers to Straight Talk said they would be prepared to switch from Telegram to domestic apps. They said Iran has rules and regulations regarding digital communications and people should abide by them.
Iran has banned access to other foreign social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter for years. But Khamenei’s office runs accounts on both networks in multiple languages to promote his agenda.
VOA Persian’s Afshar Sigarchi and Behrooz Samadbeygi contributed to this report.
