The Baghdad government “reaffirms that it is not opposed to freedom of expression, but underlines the importance of the commitment of the companies that own social networks to respect the laws of the country.”
The Iraqi authorities lifted this Sunday the blockade imposed a week ago on the Telegram application for reasons of “national security” and the alleged leak of user data.
This unlocking was possible after “the company that owns the application responded to the demands of the security authorities, detecting those responsible for leaking citizen data and expressing its total availability to communicate with the competent authorities and designate channels.” officials to communicate with Iraq, according to a statement from the country’s Ministry of Communications.
The Baghdad government “reaffirms that it is not opposed to freedom of expression, but underlines the importance of the commitment of the companies that own social networking applications to respect the country’s laws, security and user data,” according to a report. the Iraqi news agency INA.
This Sunday morning, Telegram had already become accessible again without the help of a VPN (virtual private network), the AFP agency found in Baghdad.
The Iraqi government announced on August 6 the suspension of Telegram throughout the country for “national security” reasons, a move criticized by propaganda groups of pro-Iranian factions that widely use this messaging service.
At noon, the service was no longer accessible and new messages were not loaded, according to AFP in Baghdad that day. However, access to Telegram was possible via a VPN.
The Iraqi Ministry of Telecommunications justified the suspension by invoking “instructions from higher authorities related to national security.”
According to the Ministry, the “protection of citizens’ personal data, [que são] violated by the application”.
The Iraqi government says it has asked Telegram several times to solve the problem of “data leaks from state institutions and individuals, [que] constitutes a threat to national security and social peace”, but the company “did not respond”.
Telegram is quite popular in Iraq. The app is used as a propaganda platform by groups linked to armed factions and pro-Iranian political parties.
One of these groups protested the suspension of service, saying it was a “muzzle order.” The group, which has more than 330,000 subscribers, also calls for the “deprivation of liberty” by the Iraqi government.
After four decades of conflict, Iraq has regained relative stability, but the authorities are regularly criticized by NGOs and activists for violations of freedom of expression.
Last month, Amnesty International expressed alarm that the Iraqi government planned to submit two bills to parliament that, if passed, “would severely restrict the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.”
The NGO also considered that the presentation of these projects to the elected representatives “coincides with a series of trials of people who criticize members of the Government.”
Telegram has already been blocked in other countries. In April, the messaging service was suspended in Brazil for failing to provide data on active neo-Nazi groups on the app. The measure was struck down on appeal two days later.
Source: Observadora
