In a meeting with the Supreme Council of Cyberspace, Iran’s president Ebrahim Raisi called for “digitizing” the government while also expanding controls over the internet.

Raisi said that the council can “take significant steps in making up for its ineffectiveness and in the management of cyberspace.” He added that the “health and security” of the internet must be prioritized given that “the enemy invades the personal environment and space of the people and the country.” Raisi called it “unacceptable for any institution to ignore this arena.”

Comments by Raisi such as “health and security” simply mean tighter controls of information and less freedom for Iranian internet users. The Council was formed in 2012 by the orders of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and the two-dozen-plus members include representatives from every major body in Iran, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. As president, Raisi is the head of the Council. 

Control of the internet became a major concern for the Iranian leadership after the 2009 post-election protests in which social media was used to disseminate often disturbing videos of suppressing protests to foreign countries. According to Reporters Without Borders, the Council has not only blocked access to websites and popular social media platforms but also been used to “spy and harass” journalists.