Opinion Today: Social media needs to support the Iranian people — not the regime

We're looking at you, Twitter, Telegram and Meta.

View in browser|nytimes.com Continue reading the main story October 4, 2022 By Vanessa Mobley Op-Ed Editor Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman, was visiting Tehran with her family last month when, as she left the subway with her brother, she was detained by the morality police for allegedly violating the Iranian dress code. Her senseless death in custody has been protested by thousands of people in cities across Iran. Access to the internet is restricted in Iran, and the government has taken steps to make it yet harder for Iranians to use social networks. The U.S. Treasury Department recently announced a lifting of sanctions to increase internet access for Iran's more than 85 million residents, yet there is much we still don't know about Amini's death or about the more than 100 Iranians who have died protesting it. Mahsa Alimardani, a senior researcher at the international human rights organization Article 19; Kendra Albert, a clinical instructor at the Cyberlaw Clinic at Harvard Law School; and Afsaneh Rigot, a senior researcher at Article 19, wrote a guest essay that was published last week. They argue that Twitter, Telegram and Meta — the parent companies of the social media platforms that Iranians primarily use — can do more to make it possible for people in the country to speak to one another and the rest of the world. Editing their essay opened my eyes to the latitude that U.S.-based social media companies have in making their services more accessible in countries like Iran where residents' access to information is severely limited. Alimardani described to me what writing the essay meant to her: "I've only been afforded this privilege and platform when things have been dire in Iran. When I'm worried sick for my loved ones. When I want to shout to the world to pay attention to my home country and my people. I wrote for Times Opinion before about the internet shutdowns during the bloody November 2019 crackdowns. I wish our pain had some end in sight. I wish we didn't have to shout to the world about the hell that the Islamic Republic has been inflicting on us for generations. I truly wish I had nothing to write. I hope we have made a difference in getting people and companies to care." You can read the full essay here. Markus Schreiber/Associated Press Guest Essay Big Tech Should Support the Iranian People, Not the Regime Western technology companies, recently freed from sanctions, should grant full access to Iranians. By Mahsa Alimardani, Kendra Albert and Afsaneh Rigot Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT Here's what we're focusing on today: Editors' Picks Power, Politics and Feelings From the courtroom to the waiting room, it's impossible to take politics out of mental health. 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