How Iran is enforcing an unprecedented digital blackout to crush protests

An image taken from a video shared on social media shows protesters gathered around a bonfire in the streets of Tehran, as Iran remains largely cut off from the outside world, Friday 9 January 2026. AP

As protests continue across Iran, authorities are enforcing a near-total digital blackout – cutting internet and phone communications – as rights groups warn that hundreds of demonstrators have been killed. The shutdown is choking the protest movement and limiting what can be seen, verified and reported beyond Iran’s borders.

The blackout is making it far harder for protesters to communicate and for images and eyewitness accounts to reach the outside world. It has also disrupted daily life in Iran, where banking, payments and many basic services rely on digital networks.