![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.reunion68.com\/Biuletyn\/img\/algem.png\")
<\/a>China Played Key Role in Iran\u2019s Digital Crackdown on Protesters, Report Shows<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n Ailin Vilches Arguello<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n The Iranian regime used Chinese and Russian technology to silence dissent during recent nationwide anti-government protests<\/a>, imposing near-total internet shutdowns and disrupting satellite communications to suppress public scrutiny, according to a new study.<\/span><\/p>\n On Monday, the international human rights organization Article 19 released a new report examining digital cooperation between China and Iran, detailing Beijing\u2019s role in expanding Tehran\u2019s digital repression apparatus.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIn its pursuit of total control over the digital space, Iran borrows directly from the Chinese digital authoritarian playbook,\u201d Michael Caster, head of Article 19\u2019s Global China Program, said in a statement.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cFrom Chinese companies embedded inside Iran\u2019s infrastructure, to Iran\u2019s support for China\u2019s \u2018cyber sovereignty\u2019 principles based on censorship and surveillance, both countries align in their ambition to disconnect their populations from the open, global internet,\u201d he continued.<\/span><\/p>\n According to the report<\/a>, China has provided material and technical support to Iran since at least 2010, bolstering its surveillance and censorship capabilities as Chinese firms including ZTE, Huawei, Tiandy, and Hikvision continue operating in the country despite international sanctions.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cEmulating China\u2019s infrastructure of oppression helps Iran entrench power, sidestepping accountability and exercising full control over the information environment,\u201d Article 19\u2019s head of resilience, Mo Hoseini, said in a statement. \u201cThat way, dissent is not just silenced, it is prevented from ever surfacing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The study also explains that Iran is seeking to replicate China\u2019s \u201cGreat Firewall\u201d through its National Information Network, a system designed to restrict access to the global internet while centralizing censorship and embedding surveillance deep within national infrastructure.<\/span><\/p>\n As international scrutiny over the regime grows, new estimates show that tens of thousands of people were killed<\/a> by Iranian security forces during an unprecedented crackdown on nationwide protests last month.<\/span><\/p>\n Two senior Iranian Ministry of Health officials told Time<\/em> magazine that as many as 30,000 people could have been killed in the streets of Iran on Jan. 8 and 9 alone. Some reports have put the figure even higher, suggesting the regime could have perpetrated one of the deadliest crackdowns in modern history \u2014 all under cover of digital darkness.<\/span><\/p>\n With authorities enforcing an internet blackout for weeks, the actual number of casualties remains difficult to verify. Activists fear the internet shutdown is being used to conceal the full extent of the crackdown<\/a> on anti-regime protests.<\/span><\/p>\n According to Craig Singleton, a Stanford professor and senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), a Washington, DC-based think tank, surveillance technology supplied by Chinese exporter Tiandy Digital Technology Co. has strengthened Iranian security forces\u2019 ability to identify and track protesters.<\/span><\/p>\n The equipment, including network video recorders, has been deployed during both the current unrest and previous waves of nationwide protests.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n![](\"https:\/\/www.algemeiner.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Screenshot-2025-12-31-142719.jpg\")
Protesters march in downtown Tehran, Iran, Dec. 29, 2025. Photo: Screenshot<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n