The Cyber Criminal Code Committee22 decides which websites shall be filtered or shutdown altogether.23 24 In addition, the 2010 Computer Crimes Law remains the most recent piece of legislation, extending restrictions on freedom of expression to the online sphere, including through vague and broad crimes such as “dissemination of lies” and the criminalization of what is deemed to offend “public morality and chastity”. The Iranian legal framework enables Iranian authorities to restrict severely freedom of expression and the right to information online. In 2018, Iran’s Cyber Police announced that since its foundation in 2010, it had arrested 74,917 people because of their online activities.25 This number includes many individuals, such as bloggers and other social media personalities. Iranian authorities regularly block or restrict access to websites and social media platforms, in particular those sharing information on the situation of marginalized communities or political prisoners .26 Social networking platforms, including Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Google, and bloghosting platforms, such as WordPress, Blogspot, and Blogger, are also blocked in Iran.27 The Government blocked the messaging application Telegram in 2018, 28 with an estimated 40 million monthly users, 29 and a number of its administrators have been arrested and charged with encouraging protests, “disturbing public opinion” and/or “promoting homosexuality”.30 During the 2019 November protests, the Government ordered a country-wide internet shutdown, impairing media coverage and the possibility to document acts of violence in real time.31 With regards to the right to privacy in the Islamic Republic of Iran, Article 22 of the Constitution stipulates: “The dignity, life, property, rights, residence, and occupation of the individual are 22 “The Cyber Criminal Code Committee consists of the following Ministers: Education, Communication and Digital Information, Judiciary, Intelligence, Culture and Islamic Guidance, Science and Research, as well as Islamic Propaganda Organization, the head of IRIB (Iran’s Broadcasting Company), the Police Force Chief, a representative of Parliament (delegated by the legal and judiciary committees of Parliament) and an expert on digital and internet sciences (also delegated by Parliament).” See more: https://volunteeractivists.nl/en/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Civil-Society-in-Iran-and-its-FutureProspects-pdf.pdf 23 The Committee has a list of filtered online items on the Iran’s Cyber Police’s website. 24 Small Media, Digital Rights in Iran, UPR Submission, Session 34 : <https://uprdoc.ohchr.org/uprweb/downloadfile.aspx?filename=6980&file=EnglishTranslation > 25 Small Media, Digital Rights in Iran, UPR Submission, Session 34 : <https://uprdoc.ohchr.org/uprweb/downloadfile.aspx?filename=6980&file=EnglishTranslation > 26 Small Media, Digital Rights in Iran, UPR Submission, Session 34 : <https://uprdoc.ohchr.org/uprweb/downloadfile.aspx?filename=6980&file=EnglishTranslation > 27 Small Media, Digital Rights in Iran, UPR Submission, Session 34 : <https://uprdoc.ohchr.org/uprweb/downloadfile.aspx?filename=6980&file=EnglishTranslation > 28 Human Rights Watch, https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/05/02/iran-assault-access-information 29 Small Media, Digital Rights in Iran, UPR Submission, Session 34 : <https://uprdoc.ohchr.org/uprweb/downloadfile.aspx?filename=6980&file=EnglishTranslation > 30 Small Media, Digital Rights in Iran, UPR Submission, Session 34 : <https://uprdoc.ohchr.org/uprweb/downloadfile.aspx?filename=6980&file=EnglishTranslation > 31 See more: Article 19, https://www.article19.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/TTN-report-2020.pdf 4