Golan mafia of filter breakers in the age of Internet restrictions

Ever since the issue of filtering was done with the aim of preventing users from accessing websites that are against the laws and policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the spread of VPNs and filter breakers, followed by the consideration of laws, regulations and punishments for their sale and use, is also under the law. The country’s computer crimes were discussed, but this issue has been re-examined and paid attention to recently and at a time when, according to the recognition of the competent authorities, access to two foreign platforms has been limited, and despite the warning of experts about the possible dangers of using filter breakers. It seems that the market of buying and selling filters is still hot.

According to Aetna from Isna, in the very first months of restrictions, there were many warnings about the use of the filter breaker and its possible dangers, so that the Minister of Communications and Information Technology emphasized that the use of VPN leads to the vulnerability of users’ devices. It will have because it facilitates the way for hackers to break into the phone, so the advice of experts is that people should not use VPN as much as possible. According to Zarepour, selling anti-filter and making money from it is not allowed, but unfortunately it has not been criminalized and efforts are being made to criminalize this issue in addition to being illegal, and naturally the relevant institutions should follow it.

In this regard, it was recently announced that the judiciary, with the cooperation of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and other relevant agencies, has been required to deal with the sellers of illegal VPN and filter breakers and punish the violators. According to the new decision, the manufacturers, sellers and distributors of unauthorized VPNs and filter breakers will be subject to the punishment of Article 753 of the Islamic Penal Code, and in the case of legal entities, in addition to the punishment stated in Article 753, in relation to a commercial company or institution The violator will be canceled and closed. Also, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology is obliged to continuously identify and remove the software that is the subject of this issue and introduce the violators to the judicial system, and the judiciary will deal with the violators according to the punishment provided in Article 753 of the Islamic Penal Code. did

Therefore, in Article 753 of the Islamic Penal Code, it is stated that any person who produces, publishes, distributes, makes available or trades illegal software, shall be imprisoned from 91 days to one year or fined from five million Rials to 20 million Rials. Rial or both punishments will be imposed. But in the meantime, some experts also believe that punishment and fines cannot have much effect because there are many free filter breakers in cyberspace through which people can enter filtered pages; Maybe about 10 to 15 percent of people use the filter breakers available in the market that are made in the country and are paid; So there may be some prevention at some point, but again the use of filter breakers will peak.

Another important point is the uncertainty of the sellers of filter breakers because the work of selling in the cyber space may occur on e-mail and messengers, with the exchange of two codes, and many people who offer this line may not be easily identified. Sometimes it seems that the arrest and punishment that is considered for the sellers of filter breakers cannot be an obstacle for a person who needs to be in this space in any way.

In the previous government, this issue was also mentioned and it was said that filter breakers are easily sold and this business is not dealt with, and it is clear who is behind it. The former Minister of Communications and Information Technology also said that they say that we don’t have a law that selling anti-filters is a crime, but we see a business worth several hundred billion in this area.

In any case, a review of the country’s computer crimes law shows that according to Article 1, anyone who illegally accesses data or computer or telecommunication systems that are protected by security measures, will be sentenced to imprisonment or a fine or both. But according to experts, here the goal of the legislator is to protect data and computer or telecommunication systems belonging to natural and legal persons against hackers, not the issue of filtering.

However, Article 21 of the Law on Computer Crimes is also related to the persons who prepare the content worthy of filtering, not the persons who view or use these materials in some way. According to some jurists, inference from this article raises two issues; First, in general, the issue of leaving the determination of criminal cases to a working group or committee is a strong point of reflection; Because it will cause waves of criminal concepts that are not accepted in criminal law.