Irananian president Hassan Rouhani is a major presence on
Instagram, where his verified account regularly sends out posts to an audience
of more than 2 million followers, but his account will no longer be officially
allowed in the country after authorities in Iran announced plans to ban the photo
sharing app, citing national security concerns.
Iran’s National Cyberspace Council has approved steps to
block Instagram, according to local reports, following crackdowns on other
social media apps. Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Telegram are already banned
in the Islamic Republic, with internet providers ordered to block access to the
services.
The apps have often been used as a way to spread
anti-government messages, with Telegram in particular, often cited as a
national security concern.
The state prosecution service’s IT commissary, Javad
Javadnia, said on Thursday that “Instagram unfortunately has not only illegal
but immoral and obscene content” and authorities are presently waiting for
final decision from Iran’s political leadership to implement the ban, the Isna
news agency reported.
