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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Technology
Aisha Down

UK-based pair behind messaging app accused of giving data to Iranian regime

Iran Gap United Kingdom Internet Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Facebook
A woman's hand holds a mobile phone as she tries to connect to the internet; she holds her phone over a closed silver laptop, which is resting on a red patterned Persian rug.
Iran’s crackdown on anti-government protests has included a severe internet shutdown, while domestic internet and messaging apps are promoted by the regime. Photograph: Majid Asgaripour/Reuters

The creators of a messaging app accused of handing user data to the Iranian regime live on a windswept hill in a British coastal town, the Guardian can reveal.

Hadi and Mahdi Anjidani are the cofounders of TS Information Technology, established in 2010 and now registered at the address of a tax accountancy in Shoreham-by-Sea in West Sussex. It is the UK branch of an Iranian software corporation, Towse’e Saman Information Technology (TSIT).

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