The Iranian authorities have been grappling with how to limit the use of foreign social media apps in the country. On April 30, the Iranian judiciary ordered the filtering of Telegram against the will of the administration. While the political, security and cultural motivations behind such moves are clear, few seem to have paid much attention to the fact that each ban on technology-driven services incurs costs to the Iranian economy and leads to job losses in a country where generating employment is the top political priority. In this vein, it is important to examine the socio-economic and economic consequences of restricting social media apps and what the authorities need to understand to get their priorities right.
There are 40 million Telegram users in Iran, and they use it both as a messaging tool and a social media platform. For many Iranians, Telegram has become the main point of access to a wide range of information as well as a platform for small businesses, advertising and health-related services.