ICYMI: The Guardian: Reps. Dave Min & Claudia Tenney Urge Trump Administration to Assist the Iranian People by Restoring Their Internet Access

Washington, D.C. —  Yesterday, the Guardian first reported that Representatives Dave Min (D-CA-47) and Claudia Tenney (R-NY-24) led a bipartisan letter urging “Donald Trump to allow the US government to help open up internet access in Iran.”

Rep. Min said, “These blackouts stifle the flow of information going in and out of Iran, leaving Iranians in the dark and protesters disconnected,” per Politico’s Morning Cybersecurity newsletter, which dug into Iran’s information blackout. 

Politico also reported on Rep. Min’s FREEDOM Act, which would “require the FCC and State Department to examine emerging technology to help Iranian citizens maintain access to outside information when the government pulls the plug.” 

Read more below. 

Guardian

US lawmakers call on Donald Trump to restore internet access in Iran

Robert Tait

• A bipartisan group of lawmakers is calling on Donald Trump to allow the US government to help open up internet access in Iran, which the country’s Islamic regime has blocked in an effort to suppress an eruption of unrest.
• With deaths soaring into thousands after days of protests across Iran, Democrats and Republicans from the House of Representatives have written to Trump asking him to authorize the state department to collaborate with the Open Technology Fund, a congressionally funded non-profit dedicated to supporting technologies designed to overcome censorship.
• The move would effectively implement legislation – known as the “feasibility review of emerging equipment for digital open media” (Freedom) act – that was introduced in Congress last month to address Iran’s internet-censoring practices but which has not yet been passed.
• Members of Congress say the dire urgency of the situation in Iran calls for emergency measures to circumvent the legislative process.
• They write: “The scale and intensity of these demonstrations, coupled with the regime’s use of force to violently quell peaceful protests and isolate the Iranian people from the outside world, warrant immediate attention.
• “While Congress works to advance legislation like this through regular order, we are confident that the executive branch has the ability – and responsibility – to immediately begin interagency coordination, resume and leverage the Department of State’s collaboration with the Open Technology Fund, harness existing technologies like virtual private networks (VPNs), and fully assess emerging technologies such as direct-to-cell networks.
• “Your strong support for measures like these are critical to helping the Iranian people bypass regime-controlled terrestrial communications infrastructure and providing them with a lifeline to the outside world at a time when the regime is cutting off access to traditional communication channels.”
• The Freedom act was initially introduced last month by two House members, Dave Min, a California Democrat, and Claudia Tenney, a Republican from New York, and two senators, the Pennsylvania Republican Dave McCormick, and Jacky Rosen, a Democrat from Nevada.
• It received the support of the National Union for Democracy in Iran, which said the regime was regularly using internet blackouts to silence dissent.
• Human rights groups say about 2,500 people have been killed in confrontations that began on 28 December. Unconfirmed reports from inside Iran have estimated the death toll at 12,000.
• Trump has vowed that “help is on its way” to Iranian protesters but has not been specific. He has also promised to take “very strong action” against the regime if it executes protesters. The authorities have responded to previous outbreaks of unrest by resorting to waves of executions.

Politico Pro

Inside Iran’s information blackout

Dana Nickel

•  Over a week into a near-total internet shutdown in Iran, Tehran is leveraging that isolation to amplify disinformation — and lawmakers warn that control over connectivity can mean control over the truth.
• “These blackouts stifle the flow of information going in and out of Iran, leaving Iranians in the dark and protesters disconnected,” said Rep. Dave Min (D-Calif.) in a statement.
• The latest: Nineteen members of Congress, including Min and Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.), sent a letter to President Donald Trump on Wednesday, urging the White House to support “secure, resilient communications for the Iranian people.” The nationwide internet shutdown in Iran began on Jan. 8, restricting access to cell networks, mobile data and jamming satellite providers, such as Starlink.
• The blackout comes a month after Min, Tenney and Sens. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.) and Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) introduced legislation that would require the FCC and State Department to examine emerging technology to help Iranian citizens maintain access to outside information when the government pulls the plug — a common tactic in Tehran’s playbook.
• The Iranian government has previously disrupted internet connection during periods of unrest, including for a week in 2019. Internet services were also halted in 2022 during demonstrations across Iran. And during the Iran-Israel conflict last summer, the government blocked access to the internet, leading to a boom of AI-generated slop and misinformation online.