Iranian information blackout could continue indefinitely, cutting the country off from the world

Author: Devin Windlespecht, MSc

January 21, 2026

HRRC condemns the killing of protesters in Iran and urges the international community to take measures to hold those accountable to justice. We also condemn the use of internet blackouts to suppress dissent and restrict the flow of information during times of crisis. Such measures are often used by regimes to hide human rights abuses.

In this photo obtained by The Associated Press, Iranians attend an anti-government protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. [Image credit: UGC via AP]

As the longest telecommunications blackout in Iran’s history has continued since January 8th, activists are warning that the country could be completely cut off from the global internet, even as rights groups have raised the alarm that the blackout has prevented images and videos of government violence, including the mass killings of protesters, from leaving the country. 

Since December 28th, Iran has witnessed large-scale protests across the country, which initially centered on Iran’s troubled economy but have since morphed into condemnation of the Iranian government as a whole. There have been calls for the end of the regime. 

On January 8th, the Iranian government put into place a full-scale telecommunications blackout, cutting off access to everything from landlines and cellphones to the internet – including the country’s internal internet, the National Information Network – as protests continued to build in numbers and intensity. 

Some information on the protests was able to penetrate the blackout through satellite internet access via Starlink, though Iranian officials had reportedly found ways to block some of Starlink’s signals, further hindering Iranians’ ability to communicate with the outside world.

The blackout has served to restrict the broadcasting of images and videos of mass killings of protesters; according to Iranian officials, at least 2,000 are believed to have died in the protests, though some estimates by human rights groups have put the number killed at thousands more. Among the images that have emerged from the blockade include those depicting rows of bodybags inside a warehouse, although journalists caution that the video appears to have been published by the government with the goal of intimidating protesters. 

As of January 13th, international telephone calls originating from Iran resumed, although internet services remained shut down and external calls into Iran continued to be blocked. 

Iranians have since spoken to media outlets of indiscriminate firing on protesters by Iranian security forces, with intent to kill. Reports have also emerged of mass arrests of protesters and the use of torture to compel false confessions. 

As the protests enter their second month, Iranians face a scenario in which their connection to the outside world could be cut off indefinitely. While Iranian officials have said they will restore the internet in March, they have also said that they do not plan to reinstall access to popular messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Instagram, and Telegram.

Meanwhile, what internet features that have resumed are those considered “whitelisted” by the government – a selective list of websites, online services, and apps approved by state authorities. Filterban, an Iranian digital rights organization, has warned that the intent is to create a new, restrictive information ecosystem in Iran, in which disconnection from the global internet is the norm – in effect, cutting 80 million Iranians off from connection with the outside world. 

Telecommunications blackouts are a growing tool used by authoritarians to suppress dissent during moments of crisis for the regime, and have recently been used in Afghanistan and Uganda, as well as again earlier this year in Iran during Israeli strikes on the country. Among other results, blackouts restrict the spread of information, make it more difficult for protesters to organize, and suppress the distribution of images and videos depicting human rights abuses.

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Glossary 

• Authoritarian – a kind of government in which a person or singular political party controls all aspects of the country without democratic opposition.

• Blackout – a full shut down of telecommunications infrastructure. 

• Blockade – preventing something from breaking through, in this case, images and video via the internet or other communications means. 

• Bodybag – a plastic enclosure used to conceal and transport a dead body. 

• Broadcast – to distribute through the internet, television, or other means of communication.

• Compel – to make someone do something using violence or threats. 

• Condemnation – expression of strong disapproval. 

• Depict – showing something that happened. 

• Dissent – expressions of critique or disapproval of a government, including protests. 

• Distribute – spread. 

• Ecosystem – in this context, the environment in which daily life takes place. 

• False confessions – confessions of guilt made under conditions of force or intimidation, in which the person may or may not be actually guilty. 

• Hindering – making something more difficult. 

• Human rights abuse – an act that infringes on the dignity and rights of a human being, including but not limited to torture, arbitrary arrest and detention, and the intentional killing of civilians. 

• Indefinitely – without a clear end point. 

• Indiscriminate – randomly, often with the intent to create mass harm. 

• Norm – how things normally operate on a day to day basis. 

• Regime – a government, often of an authoritarian nature. 

• Restrict – create fewer means or possibilities of carrying out. 

• Starlink – a satellite-based means of providing internet to places without easily access to the internet, owned by Elon Musk. 

• Strike – targeting a country with bombs or missiles. 

• Suppress – reduce the intensity or power of. 

• Telecommunications – communications systems including internet, cell phones and landlines, and satellite communications. 

• Verified – checked by independent sources to ensure that the event or image took place as depicted.