Elon Musk will introduce Starlink in Iran while the government blocks the internet due to protests.

As a result of demonstrations over Mahsa Amini's passing while in the care of the morality police owing to his "unsuitable dress," Elon Musk said on Friday that he will activate Starlink in Iran.

Saturday, September 24, 2022 | Chimniii Desk

Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX and the CEO of Tesla, announced on Friday that he is launching a satellite internet service called Starlink in response to the internet being shut down in Iran due to anti-hijab protests.

A high-ranking US official tweeted that the US has taken steps "to improve internet freedom and the free flow of information" to Iranians, prompting Musk to respond.

Despite US sanctions related to the Islamic Republic's nuclear programme, the US government on Friday published instructions to increase internet access for Iranians.

A US official was quoted by Reuters as saying, "Our understanding of Starlink is that what they give would be commercial grade, and it would be hardware that's not covered in the general licence, so that would be something they would need to write into Treasury for."

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Later, the US Department of Defense declared that "anyone who fits the requirements described in this general licence can proceed with their actions without asking additional approval."

Elon Musk, meanwhile, was unavailable to comment on Starlink's authorization to operate in Iran.

Two of Iran's last remaining social media platforms, Instagram and WhatsApp, were made inaccessible on Wednesday as a result of protests sparked by the death of a woman held by the morality police.

Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman who was detained by police in Tehran for wearing inappropriate clothing, passed away while they had her. Anger over topics such as freedom and rights in the Islamic Republic were released as a result of her death.

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Women took to the streets in protest against morality police as the demonstrations extended across the nation. Some women chopped their hair in public while others waved and burnt their veils.

It's the biggest uprising Iran has seen since the protests in November 2019, when a rise in fuel prices caused Internet outages and the deaths of hundreds of protestors.