Iranian authorities have lifted a ban on Meta’s instant messaging platform WhatsApp and Google Play as a first step to scale back internet restrictions.

Iran’s Supreme Council of Cyberspace on Dec 24 approved the lifting of blocks on certain widely used foreign platforms. Read more at straitstimes.com.

The ban on WhatsApp and Google Play was put in place in 2022 during mass protests against the government over the death of a woman held by the country's morality police for allegedly violating the strictly enforced dress code.

Allowing the use of WhatsApp and Google Play is the "first step in removing internet limitations," according to Iranian officials. The country still enforces draconian internet controls.

The Supreme Cyberspace Council, which is tasked with safeguarding the internet for Iranian citizens, voted unanimously to lift restrictions on a number of foreign-owned applications during a meeting today,

In September the United States called on Big Tech to help evade online censorship in countries that heavily censor the internet, including Iran.

By bne Tehran bureau Iran’s Supreme Council of Cyberspace on Tuesday announced the removal of restrictions on WhatsApp and Google Play, in what officials described as a first step towards lifting broader internet filtering measures.