The Extortion Machine

For nearly three months, the Islamic Republic denied Iranians access to the global internet. Now, it has restored that access only partially and under severe restrictions, treating connectivity not as a basic right, but as a privilege.

A regime that first cuts people off from the world, then forces them to pay for VPNs to regain access to the very right it took away, is acting like an extortionist. It shuts down the internet, traps millions behind digital walls, and then reaches into their pockets once again to sell them a small opening in the cage.