Iran dropped off the internet. Not long after, the killings spiked.
But this was not just a case of a government flipping a switch to avoid surveillance. The story of Iran's recent internet blackout goes back decades, and starts with economically ruinous attempts that have evolved into something far more dangerous: a brutally effective system of selective censorship.
By 2019, it had built a sophisticated 'kill switch' to fully or selectively disconnect Iran from the global Internet, with its conduit to the outside world built around three autonomous systems (ASes). This year its shutdown was even more complete. Activists say it requires a global response.
