Jun

17

Will The Revolution Be Twitterized?


Posted by at 11:08 am on June 17, 2009
Category: Iran Sanctions

Twitter Keeps Iran AfloatAccording to this report in the Wall Street Journal, the State Department asked Twitter to delay again a previously scheduled downtime on the service because of unfolding events in Iran. Twitter itself had delayed the first scheduled downtime. Twitter, however, ignored State’s request to delay the downtime again, cryptically noting in its blog that “the State Department does not have access to our decision making process.”

But where is the Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) in all of this? The current sanctions seem to prohibit California-based Twitter from providing its services to people in Tehran or anywhere else in Iran. The Twitter service sets up for each user a micro-blogging page that contains each of his or her “tweets.” This goes far beyond the narrow interpretation OFAC has of both the telecommunications exception and the information exception in its Iranian Transactions Regulations. Certainly if it is OFAC’s position that providing ISP services in Iran must be licensed, providing micro-blogging hosting services would require a license as well.

Don’t get me wrong: I am not advocating that OFAC rush in and shut down Twitter in Iran. But this instance shows the absurdity of applying comprehensive, rather than targeted sanctions, against Iran as well as the absurdity of OFAC’s narrow interpretations of the telecommunications and information exceptions. OFAC should define telecommunications services to cover all or most Internet-based services (including instant messaging, blog hosting, VOIP telephony). Similarly, the information exception should be broadened to include provision of any services by which information can be transmitted to or from Iran. Otherwise, OFAC’s regulations will have the unintended effect of supporting the Ahmadinejad regime’s goal of suppressing dissent in Iran.

One wonders whether OFAC and the State Department had any discussions about Twitter in Iran. And to be completely fair to OFAC, I’ve spoken informally with some people at the agency that are fully aware of, and concerned that, broad application of OFAC’s sanctions against private citizens in Iran might not be the best idea if it results in squelching the expression of dissenting views within the country.

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Copyright © 2009 Clif Burns. All Rights Reserved.
(No republication, syndication or use permitted without my consent.)


2 Comments:


Clif,

I have spent the past week or so glued to Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube to get real news from the ground in Iran. I’m half persian and have a lot of Iranian friends and family who are either over there right now or have been keeping a close eye on the things going on. It’s amazing the amount of information that is being shared between Iranians world wide using these social media platforms. My friend feed on Facebook is literally nothing but postings from my friends of video from the protests or messages from people inside of Iran. If it leads to the overthrow of the Islamic Republic (doubtful) it will truly be the first Internet Revolution.

Also, FYI, I have heard from a number of sources that a few intelligence agencies, as well as DoD, have researched how to use Twitter and other social media platforms to moblize social movements. Really interesting stuff.

Good post.

Comment by Erich C. Ferrari on June 17th, 2009 @ 8:27 pm

Excellent points, Clif. The Berman Amendments to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), authority for OFAC’s Iranian Transactions Regulations, seem not well served by the interpretations you post. Berman says specifically that newswire feeds are exempt from direct or indirect presidential regulation under sanctions. OFAC appears to say “Fine, but you can’t use telecommunications to receive or send the feed from or to Iran without a license.” In past periods, OFAC put out advice that all telephone calls constituted information, and were exempt (except where Congress regulated telephone payments to Cuba). This seems to have silently gone by the boards. High time for a fresh Obama Administration review of policy.

Comment by Ex-OFAC on June 18th, 2009 @ 4:30 pm