Iran Pres. Rouhani: Domestic apps should aim to break monopoly not restrict cyberspace

President Rouhani made the remarks in a meeting with ministers and executive officials on Tuesday.

He stressed the need for further development of people’s access to cyberspace and increasing their power of choice, adding “developing powerful, secure and cheap Iranian messaging apps, which can meet people’s needs, will be no doubt a source of pride for everyone.”

He went on to add, however, that “the aim of developing domestic apps and messaging platforms should not be to block or restrict public’s access, but rather to break the monopoly on them.”

“A good cyberspace depends on producing good, interesting and useful content not by merely monopolizing or restricting it,” he said.

President Rouhani’s remarks came as Chairman of Iran’s Parliament National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Alaeddin Boroujerdi created a stir on March 31 by announcing that the popular messaging service Telegram will be blocked and replaced by a domestic one called ‘Soroush’. He later maintained that Telegram poses security threats against Iran.