The US Treasury Department has issued a license that expands the provision of internet services to Iran amid a government crackdown on internet access during mass protests, US Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said on Friday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd September, 2022) The US Treasury Department has issued a license that expands the provision of internet services to Iran amid a government crackdown on internet access during mass protests, US Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said on Friday.
"As courageous Iranians take to the streets to protest the death of Mahsa Amini, the United States is redoubling its support for the free flow of information to the Iranian people," Adeyemo said in a press release. "Today, Treasury is announcing the expansion of Iran General License D-2, which will expand the range of internet services available to Iranians. With these changes, we are helping the Iranian people be better equipped to counter the government's efforts to surveil and censor them."
The Iranian government has cut off internet access for most of its citizens amid a violent crackdown on protests following the death of 22-year-old Amini while she was in the custody of the country's Morality Police.
The expanded license authorizes technology companies to offer Iranians more secure, external internet service options, the release said.
A senior Treasury Department official said during a press briefing on Friday that the idea behind the issuance of a new license was to update and expand the list of authorized communication tools to match modern time technologies that were not covered by the general license D-1.
The official explained that some services and hardware are not covered by the new general license, meaning that interested companies will have to apply for specific licenses as in the case with Elon Musk's Starlink satellite services.
"Our understanding of Starlink is that what they provide would be a commercial grade and it would be hardware that's not covered in the general license (D-2). So that would be something that they would need to write into Treasury for," the Treasury Department official said.
The release said that the license extends authorized categories of software and services to include social media platforms, collaboration platforms, video conferencing, and most importantly cloud-based services in support of such services.
The license also covers tools that incorporate communication functions and are often included with authorized items or services; for example, online maps, e-gaming, e-learning platforms, automated translation, web maps, and user authentication services, the release added.
The Treasury Department clarified that general license D-2 does not authorize the importation into the United States of Iranian-origin software or the dealing in such software, including the hosting of Iranian-origin software on a mobile application store.
On Monday, SpaceX founder Elon Musk said he will seek an exemption from US sanctions on Iran in order to allow his company to provide internet service to people in the country.
