To Restore YouTube, Certain Electronic and Banking Services Must Be Conducted Through Selected Domestic Messaging Apps / This Ministry Must Enter Negotiations with Telegram, as Its Reinstatement Is Tied to Its Acceptance of Iran's Sovereignty / Tasks such as drafting a bill criminalizing the sale of sovereignty-evading tools fall to bodies such as Parliament and the Judiciary / Capacity to Counter Filter-Breaking Tools Must Be Enhanced

The 32-Article Resolution on Unblocking Filtering Assigns 15 Duties to the Ministry of Communications, Paving the Way for Unblocking Foreign Platforms Alongside the Obligations of Other Bodies.

Fars: The resolution of 32 clauses on removing the filter has assigned 15 tasks to the Ministry of Communications, which paves the way for removing the filter of foreign platforms, along with the obligations of other agencies.

In the press conference of the Secretary of the Supreme Council of Cyberspace and the head of the National Center of Cyberspace, the text of the resolution "facilitating access to foreign platforms and promoting lawful governance" known as the 32-clause resolution, was declassified; The resolution that specifies the phased path to remove the filter of foreign platforms.

This decree was approved in January 1403 with the signature of the President in the Supreme Council of Cyberspace. Its purpose is to provide the legitimate and legal needs of people to access content and services, along with promoting the legal governance of cyberspace.

In this framework, removing the filter of foreign platforms is dependent on the implementation of a series of obligations and actions of the responsible institutions.

The Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Seyed Sattar Hashemi, in a conversation with Ambassador Arjan, stated that "in the Supreme Council of Cyber Space, we have approved a 32-point resolution in this regard, and its implementation must be followed up."

In the following, we will review the 15 tasks of the Ministry of Communications in this resolution, and in the coming days, we will also review the responsibilities and obligations of other institutions involved in its implementation.

the first stage; Reopen WhatsApp and Google Play

In the first phase, which led to the removal of the WhatsApp and Google Play filters, the Ministry of Communications was required to provide the necessary infrastructure to selected domestic content platforms for three months. Also, the notification of the document "Policies and Requirements for Network Traffic Tariffing and Content Revenue Sharing" known as the sharing document, in cooperation with the National Center for Virtual Space, and preparing the preparations for its implementation was also one of the other duties of this ministry.

At this stage, the implementation of other tasks, including the provision of support packages and media advertisements to internal content platforms, is the responsibility of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, the National Center for Cyberspace and the Supreme Council of Cyberspace.

In the second stage, the full implementation of its obligations will provide the context for the reopening of YouTube, the duties of the Ministry of Communications will be expanded. This ministry should modify the economic model of communication operators in such a way that their income dependence on foreign traffic is reduced and the use of domestic traffic is strengthened.

Allocating the processing and storage infrastructure needed by the selected internal platforms for one year and fully implementing the sharing document in cooperation with the National Center for Virtual Space is also the responsibility of the Ministry of Communications at this stage.

Also, providing some electronic and banking services through selected internal messengers, in cooperation with the responsible agencies, is one of the other axes of this stage.

At this stage, the other tasks of the resolution, including the approval of the bill to deal with fake news, creating a sustainable ecosystem for the production of popular content and investing in the creation and strengthening of diverse content and service platforms, etc., are the responsibility of institutions such as the Board of Ministers, the Islamic Council, the National Center for Cyberspace, the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, the Islamic Propaganda Organization, the Broadcasting Organization of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the private sector, the Ministry of Health, Medicine and Medical Education, the Central Bank, the Supreme Council of Cyberspace, and the judiciary.

The third stage of the resolution foresees measures whose full implementation will provide the basis for entering the stage of Telegram reopening. At this stage, the Ministry of Communications should improve network quality, increase traffic transparency, and reduce positive and negative errors in the filtering process.

Formulation and implementation of the family security plan in cyberspace, improving the quality of access to internal content in terms of speed, stability and user experience, and applying tariff incentive policies for subscribers with fair consumption are also among the other duties of this ministry in the third stage.

After the implementation of these measures, the Ministry of Communications should enter into negotiations with Telegram. The reopening of this messenger is dependent on its acceptance of Iran's sovereignty.

In other sections of this stage, tasks such as providing electronic services related to fuel cards and judicial services, providing new sanctions-breaking services, compiling and following up on the approval of the platform liability law, etc., have been assigned to institutions such as the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance, the Ministry of Petroleum, Faraja, the judiciary, the private sector, the Council of Ministers, and the Islamic Council.

Dealing with sanctions and anti-refining tools in the fourth stage

In the fourth stage of this resolution, the Ministry of Communications is required to provide necessary access and solutions to deal with embargoes in the infrastructure layer and to improve the ability to deal with anti-remedial tools. Negotiating with other foreign platforms and providing the ground for their reopening are also other duties foreseen for this ministry.

In other sections of this stage, tasks such as drafting a bill to criminalize the supply and sale of anti-governance tools, drafting and following up on the approval of the Intellectual Property Law, preventing tax evasion from income from economic and content activities in foreign platforms, etc., have been assigned to bodies such as the Council of Ministers, the Islamic Council, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance, and the judiciary.

In addition to the above main duties, the Ministry of Communications is a partner in which departments?

The responsibility of the Ministry of Communications in this resolution is not limited to the direct implementation of the clauses, and in some cases, this ministry is responsible for the role of the cooperating agency.

For example, in the third stage, the provision of electronic services related to subsidies, fuel cards, police and judiciary exclusively in selected internal messengers, in cooperation with the Ministry of Communications, is foreseen. In this department, the ministry is placed next to the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Oil, Faraja and the Judiciary.

Also, in the field of providing embargo-breaking services, the Ministry of Communications plays the role of a private sector partner.

Therefore, out of the 32 clauses of the resolution "facilitating access to foreign platforms and promoting lawful governance", 15 tasks are directly under the responsibility of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology; Tasks that include strengthening the infrastructure of internal platforms and modifying the economic model of operators to improving the quality of the network, dealing with sanctions and negotiating with foreign platforms. However, removing the filter of platforms such as YouTube and Telegram does not depend only on the performance of this ministry, and the implementation of the obligations of other responsible institutions and the fulfillment of the conditions foreseen in the resolution also play a role in this direction.