The death of a 22-year-old Iranian woman at the hands of the Iranian morality police has sparked a wave of protests since Friday.
The authorities appear to be using a variety of means to crack down on the protesters: from internet blackouts to water cannons and tear gas. Local media also reported that more "temporary restrictions" on telecommunications are planned.
Now, internet watchdog NetBlocks confirms that even access to Instagram has been leaked. This means that Iranians will likely need software like a VPN to use what was one of the last social media platforms available in the country.
⚠️ Update: Access to #Instagram, one of the latest social media platforms available in #Iran, has been restricted due to protests over #MahsaAmini's death; live metrics show frontend and CDN now down on all major ISPs
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What is happening in Iran?
As NetBlocks explains in its report (opens in a new tab), the Instagram outages are just the latest attempt by authorities to try and silence dissidents.
“NetBlocks network data confirms a near-total internet service outage in parts of Kurdistan province, western Iran, starting Monday night, September 19, 2022.
"The disruption of regional telecommunications in and around Sanandaj follows a partial interruption of internet service in Tehran and other parts of the country on Friday, when protests first broke out. Access to Instagram was restricted across the country on Wednesday September 21".
It all started after the announcement of the death of a 22-year-old Iranian woman while she was detained by the Iranian morality police in Tehran.
Originally from Saqqez in the Kurdistan province, Mahsa Amini came to the Iranian capital to visit her brother when she was arrested for allegedly violating the strict hijab rules on September 15. She died three days later, after being fatally beaten.
Since then, crowds of protesters have taken to the streets, demanding justice.
The protests have spread from Tehran to at least 15 other cities across the country. Dozens of people were injured and at least six protesters were killed in the crackdown.
As mentioned above, other Internet restrictions are very likely to occur.
This has prompted Iranian netizens to ask the international community for help in covering the events, as they prepare to bypass these connectivity blackouts.
On Twitter, for example, many users share their advice. Whether you choose the best free VPN to bypass those content blocks, a secure browser like Tor, or encrypted messaging apps like Signal and WhatsApp.
