STAY UP TO DATE: The Effects of the US Foreign Aid Freeze on Freedom House
Expanding Freedom and Democracy
Freedom on the Net 2025

Iran

Not Free
13
100
A Obstacles to Access 8 25
B Limits on Content 4 35
C Violations of User Rights 1 40
Last Year's Score & Status
12 100 Not Free
Scores are based on a scale of 0 (least free) to 100 (most free). See the methodology and report acknowledgements.
Iran_hero

header1 Key Developments, June 1, 2024 – May 31, 2025

Internet freedom remained highly restricted in Iran. While network disruptions were less severe than in previous years, the authorities did impose a major internet shutdown in June 2025, shortly after the coverage period. The government continued its efforts to make access to the global internet more cumbersome and expensive, and pressured users to confine themselves to a domestic version of the internet where authorities could more effectively control content and monitor activity. The regime also employed extensive censorship, surveillance, content manipulation, and extralegal harassment of internet users, making Iran’s online environment one of the world’s most repressive.

  • Network shutdowns during the coverage period were less severe than those in previous years. However, connectivity disruptions were reported ahead of the presidential election in June 2024.1 In June 2025, shortly after the coverage period, the regime implemented a near-total, nationwide internet shutdown that began just hours after the Israeli military launched a campaign of air strikes in Iran.2 The country’s communications ministry said the shutdown was a temporary measure necessitated by the “special conditions” associated with the Israeli attacks, and it was lifted after the 12-day conflict came to an end (A3).3
  • Authorities continued to restrict access to thousands of websites, and nearly all major social media platforms—including Facebook, TikTok, X, and YouTube—remained blocked or filtered. In December 2024, the government announced that its Supreme Council for Cyberspace had decided to lift restrictions on WhatsApp and Google Play (B1).4
  • In August 2024, journalist and activist Hossein Shanbehzadeh was sentenced to 12 years in prison after responding to a post on X by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, with a single period. Khamenei’s original post was missing a period, and Shanbehzadeh’s response garnered more likes and shares on the platform than the original post. Shanbehzadeh had been arrested in June and charged with spreading lies and “propaganda against the state,” among other offenses (C3).5
  • Reporting from FilterWatch in April 2025 found that authorities had used IMSI (international mobile subscriber identity) catchers to identify and surveil women in Isfahan by intercepting their mobile phone traffic and tracking their location data.6 The use of IMSI catcher technology, among other surveillance tactics, was part of the regime’s ongoing effort to enforce its mandatory hijab law, which a growing number of women have openly defied in recent years (C5).7
  • Women were subjected to arrests and physical assaults in retaliation for social media posts in which they protested the mandatory hijab law. In September 2024, the British Broadcasting Corporation described the case of one woman who was blindfolded, taken an unknown location, detained and repeatedly interrogated, and ultimately charged with offenses including “promoting corruption and fornication,” after she posted a photo of herself with uncovered hair in public. Following her conviction, she received 50 lashes and a suspended prison sentence (C7).8

header2 Political Overview

The Islamic Republic of Iran holds elections regularly, but they fall short of democratic standards due in part to the influence of the hard-line Guardian Council, an unelected body that disqualifies all candidates it deems insufficiently loyal to the clerical establishment. Ultimate power rests in the hands of the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and the unelected institutions under his control. These institutions, including the security forces and the judiciary, play a major role in the suppression of dissent and other restrictions on civil liberties.

This report has been abridged for Freedom on the Net 2025 due to ongoing budget constraints. Please consider making a donation to support future editions of this vital resource.

For additional background information, see last year’s full report.

A Obstacles to Access

A1 1.00-6.00 pts0-6 pts
Do infrastructural limitations restrict access to the internet or the speed and quality of internet connections? 5.005 6.006
A2 1.00-3.00 pts0-3 pts
Is access to the internet prohibitively expensive or beyond the reach of certain segments of the population for geographical, social, or other reasons? 1.001 3.003
A3 1.00-6.00 pts0-6 pts
Does the government exercise technical or legal control over internet infrastructure for the purposes of restricting connectivity? 2.002 6.006

Score Change: The score improved from 1 to 2 because disruptions in internet service during the coverage period were not as severe or widespread as in previous years, though localized connectivity restrictions were reported.1

A4 1.00-6.00 pts0-6 pts
Are there legal, regulatory, or economic obstacles that restrict the diversity of service providers? 0.000 6.006
A5 1.00-4.00 pts0-4 pts
Do national regulatory bodies that oversee service providers and digital technology fail to operate in a free, fair, and independent manner? 0.000 4.004

B Limits on Content

B1 1.00-6.00 pts0-6 pts
Does the state block or filter, or compel service providers to block or filter, internet content, particularly material that is protected by international human rights standards? 0.000 6.006
B2 1.00-4.00 pts0-4 pts
Do state or nonstate actors employ legal, administrative, or other means to force publishers, content hosts, or digital platforms to delete content, particularly material that is protected by international human rights standards? 0.000 4.004
B3 1.00-4.00 pts0-4 pts
Do restrictions on the internet and digital content lack transparency, proportionality to the stated aims, or an independent appeals process? 0.000 4.004
B4 1.00-4.00 pts0-4 pts
Do online journalists, commentators, and ordinary users practice self-censorship? 1.001 4.004
B5 1.00-4.00 pts0-4 pts
Are online sources of information controlled or manipulated by the government or other powerful actors to advance a particular political interest? 0.000 4.004
B6 1.00-3.00 pts0-3 pts
Are there economic or regulatory constraints that negatively affect users’ ability to publish content online? 0.000 3.003
B7 1.00-4.00 pts0-4 pts
Does the online information landscape lack diversity and reliability? 1.001 4.004
B8 1.00-6.00 pts0-6 pts
Do conditions impede users’ ability to mobilize, form communities, and campaign, particularly on political and social issues? 2.002 6.006

C Violations of User Rights

C1 1.00-6.00 pts0-6 pts
Do the constitution or other laws fail to protect rights such as freedom of expression, access to information, and press freedom, including on the internet, and are they enforced by a judiciary that lacks independence? 0.000 6.006
C2 1.00-4.00 pts0-4 pts
Are there laws that assign criminal penalties or civil liability for online activities, particularly those that are protected under international human rights standards? 0.000 4.004
C3 1.00-6.00 pts0-6 pts
Are individuals penalized for online activities, particularly those that are protected under international human rights standards? 0.000 6.006
C4 1.00-4.00 pts0-4 pts
Does the government place restrictions on anonymous communication or encryption? 1.001 4.004
C5 1.00-6.00 pts0-6 pts
Does state surveillance of internet activities infringe on users’ right to privacy? 0.000 6.006
C6 1.00-6.00 pts0-6 pts
Does monitoring and collection of user data by service providers and other technology companies infringe on users’ right to privacy? 0.000 6.006
C7 1.00-5.00 pts0-5 pts
Are individuals subject to extralegal intimidation or physical violence by state authorities or any other actor in relation to their online activities? 0.000 5.005
C8 1.00-3.00 pts0-3 pts
Are websites, governmental and private entities, service providers, or individual users subject to widespread hacking and other forms of cyberattack? 0.000 3.003

On Iran

See all data, scores & information on this country or territory.

See More

Country Facts

  • Population

    88,550,000

  • Global Freedom Score

    11 100 not free

  • Internet Freedom Score

    13 100 not free

  • Freedom in the World Status

    Not Free

  • Networks Restricted

    Yes

  • Websites Blocked

    Yes

  • Pro-government Commentators

    Yes

  • Users Arrested

    Yes