WhatsApp is planning on allowing people to connect to proxy servers to remain online if the internet is barred or hindered by blockages.
The move was reportedly inspired by the Iranian government’s disabling of the internet in response to the protests in Iran.
The Meta-owned company wants to avoid a similar scenario. WhatsApp said in a statement:
Disruptions, like we’ve seen in Iran for months on end, deny people’s human rights and cut people off from receiving urgent help. Though in case these shutdowns continue, we hope this solution helps people wherever there is a need for secure and reliable communication.
Proxies are set up by various organizations and volunteers to help users get through restrictions.
In recent years authoritarian regimes have often blocked or heavily restricted access to the internet during unrest or mass protests in order to prevent the spread of information and limit the dissenting individuals’ ability to organize.
Iran has faced mass protests against the regime following the September death of 22-year-old Iranian-Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini following her arrest in Tehran for an alleged breach of the country’s strict dress code for women.
The authorities restricted access to Instagram and WhatsApp — until this autumn the last remaining unfiltered social media services — and then clamped down on apps like the Google Play Store as well as Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) that seek to circumvent local access restrictions.
In January 2021, the government of Uganda directed the Internet Service Providers to “totally switch off the internet” ahead of that country’s presidential election in which Bobi Wine, real name Robert Kyagulanyi, intended to challenge the incumbent president, Yoweri Museveni, 76 then, who aimed to extend his rule to at least 40 years.
The Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) had previously given a directive to the effect that “all social media platforms” be shut down.
The Zimbabwean government shut down the internet in 2019 during national protests against the decision to hike fuel prices. Access to social media sites and apps including Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter and YouTube was restricted.
And they are announcing to the world so that dictatorships start working flat-out to block that go-around?
😂😂😂😂😂