Regional shutdown
Sistan and Baluchestan
Internet connectivity was suspended in the Sistan and Baluchestan regions of Iran on Friday, 31 March. This follows similar shutdowns that have happened each Friday since xxx and reportedly coincide with Friday prayers and protests held at the same time. Internet shutdowns during protests or civil unrest impact citizens' ability to get accurate information from government sources when they need it most. It also becomes harder for citizens to contact family members and friends in other parts of the country or other countries.
- Total Duration 3 hours
Iran
- Population
- 90,608,707
Freedom House rates Internet freedom as Not Free
Local impact
Internet connectivity was suspended in the Sistan and Baluchestan regions of Iran on Friday, 31 March. This follows similar shutdowns that have happened each Friday since xxx and reportedly coincide with Friday prayers and protests held at the same time. Internet shutdowns during protests or civil unrest impact citizens' ability to get accurate information from government sources when they need it most. It also becomes harder for citizens to contact family members and friends in other parts of the country or other countries.
Related documentation
No official cause documentation was made public.
Other supporting information
IODA data shows a significant drop in Internet connectivity in the Sistan and Baluchestan region from 7:30 to 10:30 UTC on 31 March.
Note: It’s difficult to measure the effect of local/regional Internet shutdowns as most measurements are done at a country level. Learn more
Social media
For 26 CONSECUTIVE Fridays and despite severe internet outages, droves of protesters have gathered in Zahedan, the capital of Sistan-Baluchestan Province, to protest against the theocratic regime in #Iran. Since it’s Ramadan, demonstrators decided to do a pic.twitter.com/RU5Eq1utuX…
— Jonathan Harounoff (@JonathanHaroun1) March 31, 2023
Media coverage
For 26 CONSECUTIVE Fridays and despite severe internet outages, droves of protesters have gathered in Zahedan, the capital of Sistan-Baluchestan Province, to protest against the theocratic regime in #Iran. Since it’s Ramadan, demonstrators decided to do a pic.twitter.com/RU5Eq1utuX…
— Jonathan Harounoff (@JonathanHaroun1) March 31, 2023