Ban on WhatsApp and Google Play in Iran lifted

The ban on the communication application "WhatsApp" (WhatsApp) and the online platform "Google Play" (Google Play) in Iran has been lifted, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA, citing state media.

The decision was made yesterday at a meeting chaired by moderate Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian, who promised before the elections in which he was elected to office earlier this year to ease restrictions on internet access in the country, which are some of the strictest in the world.

Social networks were used extensively during anti-government protests in Iran two years ago. Many Iranians are circumventing the restrictions by using virtual private networks.

In September, the U.S. government called on major technology companies to help circumvent online censorship in countries that impose strict restrictions, such as Iran, Reuters noted.

Iranian Minister of Information and Communications Technology Sattar Hashemi called yesterday's decision "the first step towards lifting internet restrictions" in the country, but did not provide details.