How Washington Helps Tehran Control the Internet

When thousands of Iranians streamed onto the country’s streets the week of Dec 25 to protest government corruption and the dilapidated economy, authorities in Tehran reverted to a well-known playbook. On Dec 31, the government shut down Telegram, a messaging platform used by more than 40 million Iranians. Instagram and other social media soon followed. The mullahs’ intentions were clear: to block access to digital platforms used by protesters to spread information about the uprising. But the government’s crackdown found support from a surprising source — the American sanctions regime.