Iranian Hardliners Dream of China’s Internet Model
by Ali Fotovvati & Mahtab Divsalar — 2August 2021
The Speaker of the Iranian parliament warned experts not to express their views and opinions on the consequences of the so-called “Protect the Rights of Users in Cyberspace And Organize Social Media” bill.
Despite the widespread criticism and opposition to the bill from the public, on July 28, the Iranian parliament voted to review the plan under Article 85 of the Constitution.
According to Article 85 of the Iranian Constitution, in case of an emergency, the parliament can delegate the review and approval of some plans to a parliamentary committee. Therefore, in the next step parliament will form a special committee that is supposed to review this 32-article bill. This bill will never get back to the parliament for voting. Instead, it is being sent to the Guardian Council and, if approved, the pilot implementation will start. The Iranian parliament uses a loophole to turn this bill into law without being approved by the parliament.
