'Like a prisoner being released' - Relief for Iranians as internet shutdown ends

'Like a prisoner being released' - Relief for Iranians as internet shutdown endsJust nowShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleDoug FaulknerAPTNComputer sciences students Pantea and Rastin said business badly affected by the shutdown"After 88 days, it felt exactly like a prisoner being released after three months of imprisonment and seeing the sky for the first time."That is how an Iranian said it felt to be reconnected to the internet, after their government ended what a monitoring group called the longest nationwide shutdown in modern history."You wouldn't believe it, but when I clicked on a website and watched it open, I felt as though I could fly with joy," he told the BBC's Middle East Daily programme. "And when I realised I could once again send messages through Telegram, WhatsApp, and other platforms, the feeling was indescribable. "Even now, as I speak, I'm on the verge of tears from happiness."He added that his first notification on his phone had told him to update a long list of apps, which left him "overwhelmed with emotion".While there is relief at the partial restoration of connectivity in Iran, there are also concerns about increased censorship in a country where internet access was already heavily restricted and monitored.The Iranian government cut internet access after the US and Israel launched a war against Iran on 28 February. Officials suggested the aim was to prevent surveillance, espionage and cyber-attacks.First Vice-President Mohammad Reza Aref wrote on X on Tuesday that the government had taken a "first step" towards "free and regulated" internet access following a directive from President Masoud Pezeshkian. He linked the reopening of the internet to restoring smart services and meeting demands of citizens who had "stood by the system and Iran", while portraying it as necessary for scientific and knowledge-based development.Another Iranian told Mi...