A new twist has come to light in the increasing tension between Iran and Israel. Iran’s government television channels recently issued a warning asking people to delete WhatsApp immediately from their mobile phones. It has been claimed that this chatting app is secretly collecting personal information of Iranian users and giving it to Israel. However, no concrete evidence has been offered yet to support this claim. Nevertheless, in a country like Iran where there is already strong control on social media, it will not be surprising to ban any app after such statements.
What did WhatsApp say?
WhatsApp’s parent company Mata has described these allegations as completely baseless. The company says it is fully committed to users’ privacy and does not hand over the chat, location or data of users to any government or organization. WhatsApp uses the end-to-end encryption technology, so that neither a third party can read the conversation between two people nor does it have the facility to see it on WhatsApp itself.
Restrictions have been imposed earlier also
This is not the first time a WhatsApp or any big digital platforms have been questioned in Iran. When protests started across the country after the death of a woman in police custody in 2022, the government blocked platforms like WhatsApp and Google Play Store. The argument behind this was that information was spreading rapidly through these apps.
WhatsApp is not just chatting app
The use of WhatsApp in Iran is not limited to talking to friends and relatives only. It has become an important means ranging from commercial communication to international contact. WhatsApp with Instagram and Telegram is one of the most popular apps. If this app is banned or people start deleting it due to fear, it can affect the digital life of millions of people.
Will it really be banned?
So far, the Iranian government has not issued any formal order, but repeated appeals through television may indicate that some strict steps can be taken in the coming days.
How are people facing?
There are already many websites and app blocks in Iran, but there people continue to reach these services using VPN and Proxy Servers. Therefore, if there is a new ban on WhatsApp, then there is every possibility that people will follow the same path again. In this era of increasing tension with Israel, the Iranian government has targeted WhatsApp in the name of cyber security and privacy. However, there is doubt about these allegations made without any concrete evidence. Now it will be interesting to see whether the government takes a big step in this direction or it is limited to warning only.
