Building the internet censorship system and backing blackouts during protests
Khamenei created the Supreme Council of Cyberspace in 2012, which sets Iran's internet policy. Authorities imposed a near-total shutdown during the November 2019 protests, which Amnesty said hid a lethal crackdown. In 2022 Khamenei urged the judiciary to draft new laws if existing ones did not allow blackouts, and in 2024 a council decree he endorsed outlawed VPNs.
Editorial timeline of public reporting, not a legal finding.
- Decree creating the Supreme Council of Cyberspace - BBC News reported that Khamenei issued a decree ordering the creation of a Supreme Council of Cyberspace, saying it was needed to protect Iran from 'harm'. Its members include the president, the intelligence and culture ministers, and the chiefs of the police and the Revolutionary Guards (@sepah___fa). Iran's Supreme Leader sets up body to oversee internet
- Near-total internet shutdown during the November 2019 protests - NetBlocks reported that Iran's connectivity fell to about 7 percent of ordinary levels. Amnesty International said the authorities deliberately shut down internet access by ordering providers to disconnect, hiding the extent of a crackdown that left at least 304 people dead. Internet disrupted in Iran amid fuel protests in multiple cities
- Khamenei says a free cyberspace is nothing to be proud of - IranWire reported that in his Nowruz speech Khamenei said 'all countries in the world manage cyberspace', adding that some in Iran were proud that cyberspace was free but 'this method is nothing to be proud of at all'. Justifying Internet Censorship in Iran, Khamenei Invokes God
- Urging the judiciary to make laws allowing blackouts - IranWire reported that in a meeting with judiciary officials Khamenei spoke about the need to restrict access to the internet, saying that if current laws did not allow for blackouts, the state needed to come up with new ones. Justifying Internet Censorship in Iran, Khamenei Invokes God
- VPNs outlawed under a decree he endorsed - RFE/RL reported that Iran officially outlawed tools such as VPNs used to bypass censorship, under a directive from the Supreme Council of Cyberspace that was endorsed by Khamenei. Iran Tries To Tighten Grip On Internet By Officially Outlawing VPN Use