Service blocking
Telegram
Government of Iraq banned Telegram, an instant messaging service, on Iraq networks from the 5 August 2023. The Ministry of Telecommunication in the country issued a statement that upper authorities connected to national security mandated blocking access to the service. The blocking is apparent on all Iraqi networks except AS206206 – Kurdistan Net Company for Computer and Internet Ltd. On August 14, the government stated that they have reached an agreement where the company complied to the government requests, Telegram access to the service was restored as a result.
- Total Duration 10 days
Iraq
- Population
- 46,042,015
Freedom House rates Internet freedom as Partly Free
Local impact
Government of Iraq banned Telegram, an instant messaging service, on Iraq networks from the 5 August 2023. The Ministry of Telecommunication in the country issued a statement that upper authorities connected to national security mandated blocking access to the service. The blocking is apparent on all Iraqi networks except AS206206 – Kurdistan Net Company for Computer and Internet Ltd. On August 14, the government stated that they have reached an agreement where the company complied to the government requests, Telegram access to the service was restored as a result.
Related documentation
Other supporting information
Government of Iraq banned Telegram, an instant messaging service, on Iraq networks from the 5th of August 2023. The Ministry of Telecommunication in the country issued a statement that upper authorities connected to national security mandated blocking access to the service. The blocking was measured through OONI, as seen in the chart below. The blocking is apparent on all Iraqi networks except AS206206 – Kurdistan Net Company for Computer and Internet Ltd. On August 14th, the government stated that they have reached an agreement where the company complied to the government requests, Telegram access to the service was restored as a result.
Sources on the ground informed Pulse that citizens and official channels continued to publish on Telegram after the blocking through Virtual Private Networks (VPN), which indicates that the blocking is ineffective and poses individuals to security risks of running untrustworthy VPNs. The official Iraqi News Agency published on Telegram that they are moving to Viber instead of Telegram following higher national security orders, but the Ministry of Finance kept publishing on Telegram as per the screenshots below, taken on 9 August.
