Jahanshahi: Only the notoriety of filtering remains for the system

**Translation:**

Jahanghahi said: Instead of self-sanctioning and filtering, we must work extensively on digital literacy education in society. We need to focus on internet literacy, which, given the role that the internet plays in today's life, has effectively been dubbed "the literacy of life."

According to Ham Mihan Online, "Omid Jahanghahi," a researcher in media and communication studies, believes that when VPNs are abundant and accessible, filtering becomes meaningless, and the so-called security concerns used to justify filtering are practically irrelevant. In reality, what remains is only the disrepute of filtering for the regime.

According to Khabar Online, from the discovery of fire and prehistoric inventions to magnificent revolutions, humanity has always transformed the world throughout its history; each time, human life has taken on more intelligent dimensions, and what expanded these dimensions was humanity's engagement with these transformations. Without this engagement, today's life as we see it would never have existed. The internet revolution was one of those events that affected the entire world. Along with the internet revolution, all aspects of human life changed; the speed and extent of communities' access to information transformed, and today, many social and political changes in life stem from this very transformation.

Although many changes have occurred in the world after the internet, what we witness in our own country is the extensive limitation of the internet, which some justify for various reasons. Filtering and its consequences in a world where the internet has become one of its main pillars is an issue we discussed with "Omid Jahanghahi," a researcher in media and communication studies.

- Considering that many changes have occurred in the world due to the internet, how has the way individuals in society engage in the present era with the internet differed from the past?

Your question contains a truth that some political forces in society do not want to understand or perceive as a threat, attempting to stand against it or failing to comprehend its essence and dimensions. However, the reality is that we have entered the "post-internet world." While technically, eras can be divided into different generations of the internet, in a broad and preliminary view, we can divide the world into the pre-internet world and the post-internet world.

In the post-internet world, everything has transformed under the shadow of the grand trend of digitalism, and we can say it has undergone a metamorphosis. Online and digital games have transformed the gaming industry. Social and digital media have revolutionized the media industry. Marketing through social media has evolved. Even the political sphere has witnessed this metamorphosis in electoral campaigns.

This transformation has also affected human communication and the extent of access to information. The speed and extent of people's access to information have completely changed, and many of the social and political transformations we see in the world have their roots in this very change in the speed and extent of access to information; it stems from the metamorphosis in people's relationship with politics and political news, and this is something that must be understood. Today, people have gained the power to act.

- What is the state of this engagement in our society considering the filtering?

People are bypassing filtering with VPNs. We can observe various forms of circumvention in all domains, whether in government, among intellectuals, or in daily life. One example in the government domain is this filtering. When VPN sales are common, abundant, and accessible, filtering becomes meaningless. Filtering is genuinely ineffective, and people easily circumvent it. Moreover, the so-called security concerns used to justify filtering are practically irrelevant, and what remains is merely the disrepute of filtering for the regime, while VPNs are abundant. We need to reach a situation where we witness clarity and transparency in the actions of the government, intellectuals, civil society activists, and in everyday life, without the need for circumventions. Intellectuals should also not need to circumvent to express their views.

- We see that despite filtering, people still use foreign messaging apps. What is your view on the consequences of filtering?

One of the most important consequences of filtering is the exacerbation of distrust between the people and the regime. Distrust is the mother of crises. When distrust exists, the government cannot seek public cooperation on general issues, and the established discourse cannot successfully advance its desired values. As you mentioned, even people show little interest in domestic platforms and software simply because they are domestic. Therefore, we need to rebuild this trust, which requires a different perspective on civil society, political engagement, and cyberspace.

Contrary to the claim that filtering is meant to prevent threats against the regime, such as stopping the creation of negative spaces and black portrayals, it should be said that filtering itself is one of the biggest threats to the regime, as it fosters closed-minded views and barriers to collective discussions about development and serious public issues; because the first thing it does is destroy trust, and as I said, distrust is the mother of crises.

Instead of self-sanctioning, we should work extensively on digital literacy education in society.

Please note that my opposition to filtering does not mean that cyberspace does not have serious harms and threats; it undoubtedly does. As numerous studies have shown, social media has serious and multiple harms, including diminishing people's depth, attention, and concentration. It makes people less patient with in-depth and comprehensive reports. It reduces the desire for reading and depth. It damages democracy, and it aids populism. However, despite all these threats and harms, filtering, and more importantly, the view that filtering all social media is the solution, creates the very threats that foster distrust and despair.

Instead of self-sanctioning, we must work extensively on digital literacy education in society. We need to focus on internet literacy, which, given the role that the internet plays in today's life, has effectively been dubbed "the literacy of life." We need to work on regulation and legislation in this area. There is still room for serious scientific work in this field.

- What do you see as the necessity of lifting filtering, and what issues should we pay more attention to in this space?

Let me return to the good point you made in your first question regarding the post-internet world. I mentioned that we have witnessed metamorphoses in various domains. One of these is power. Today, power has gained a software-like meaning. What allows a discourse of power to persist is the degree of legitimacy and acceptance of the narrative it presents to society.

If there is a perception of protest engagement in social media, we should also look for weaknesses in the narrative being presented. This narrative must carry independence and freedom for the people. It should be developmental to be acceptable to the youth. In today's world, the internet is not something we should debate whether to filter or not. Access to information and the use of the internet is a right for today's citizen. Of course, there are also harms and threats that must be addressed appropriately and correctly, rather than having the approach to these threats become a breeding ground for other threats.

The last point regarding dialogue is that one of the roles of the media is to create dialogue. In a society where dialogue does not flow, there is protest, and this protest manifests itself in cyberspace. The way to address this protest is not filtering but rather facilitating dialogue. By dialogue, I mean the conversation among civil activists with one another to help create a discourse for development. When this dialogue becomes prominent in Iranian society, trust will also be established. We must take the issue of trust in society seriously. Filtering itself is one of the serious obstacles to building trust.