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Iraq

Iraq blocks Telegram over ‘national security’ concerns

2023-08-07

[Rudaw] Iraq's Ministry of Communications on Sunday announced that the country was blocking popular messaging service Telegram, citing concerns over "national security" and threats to citizens’ personal data.

The ministry said that the decision has been issued "based on directives of higher authorities," claiming that relative authorities had repeatedly requested Telegram to shut down channels that were leaking documents of state institutions and personal data of Iraqi users, but had not received a response from the platform.

Digital Media Center (DMC), an Iraqi non-governmental organization monitoring and analyzing digital media, in late July criticized Telegram’s "poor" technical support saying that the ignoring of reports filed by Iraqi users has turned the app into a "hotspot for digital crime" in the country.

The DMC said that it had recorded dozens of channels on the platform that specialize in electronic extortion and have leaked personal data of thousands Iraqi users, while Telegram "continuously ignores requests to delete the violating channels."

Telegram is very popular among Iraqi users, and is the main platform for many of the country’s armed factions and militias.

Sabreen news, a channel affiliated with Iranian-backed factions of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), has heavily criticized the Iraqi government’s decision, labelling it as "silencing" and "fighting press freedom."

The channel, which has over 330 thousand subscribers on Telegram, has called for a campaign of "political and media opposition to all government activities" in response to the recent decision.

"The communication ministry reaffirms its respect for the people’s rights to freedom of expression and communication without violating the security of the state and its institutions, and expresses its confidence in the citizens' understanding of this measure.," read the statement from the Iraqi ministry.

Human right watchdogs frequently criticize Iraqi authorities for violating press freedom.

According to a Reporters Without Borders (RSF) report, Iraq ranks 172nd out of 180 countries in the 2022 World Press Freedom Index, falling even further from 163rd in 2021.

Shafaq News adds:

Iraq's former prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, on Sunday, expressed discontent with banning Telegram, a popular messaging application in Iraq, stressing that the government should direct its attention toward platforms that promote violence and hatred.

Iraq's telecoms ministry said it had blocked Telegram over national security concerns and in order to preserve the integrity of users' data, which it said the app had mishandled.

"Iraq, a democratic nation that upholds the freedom of media and expression, recognizes these as fundamental rights, albeit not absolute ones," the head of the State of Law bloc wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, "blocking social media sites for security reasons should take into consideration the distinction between sites supporting the state and government, versus those inciting hatred, violence, and infringements on others' privacy."

The app is widely used in Iraq for messaging but also as a source of news and for sharing content.

Some channels contain large amounts of personal data, including the names, addresses, and family ties of Iraqis.

The ministry said in a statement it had asked the app to close down "platforms that leak the data of the official state institutions and the personal data of citizens... but the company did not respond and did not interact with any of these requests."

"The Ministry of Communications affirms its respect for citizens' rights to freedom of expression and communication, without prejudice to the security of the state and its institutions," the statement said.

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