How Western Bans on TikTok Fuel Repression in Iran
Referencing TikTok’s restrictions in the West, Iranian officials and state media coordinate to justify the country’s stringent censorship policies by invoking national security concerns
The Ripple Effect of Western Censorship
Western bans on social media platforms establish a global norm that legitimizes digital authoritarianism under the guise of national security. In Iran, the world’s third most censored state in cyberspace, officials have been citing Western actions against TikTok and, more recently, Telegram, as evidence of a global consensus that such measures are necessary for national security. They accuse the West of hypocrisy in its treatment of freedom of expression, claiming that if free democracies restrict social media in the name of security, Iran’s censorship policies are equally justified. As a result, they insist Iran should further tighten its internet control, disregarding international criticism of its policies.
In a meeting with the newly appointed cabinet under Pezeshkian, Iran’s Supreme Leader, the highest political and religious authority, reaffirmed this position. He pointed to the arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov by the French government as evidence that even liberal states enforce stringent regulations on digital platforms. Leveraging this example, he urged the cabinet to tighten internet regulations in Iran, framing the move as essential for protecting national security.
Similar rhetoric became a key focus during the June 2024 Iranian presidential election. During the debates, all candidates, including the eventual winner Masood Pezeshkian, referenced U.S. actions against TikTok to argue online censorship has become a global standard. The most striking statement, however, came from ultra-hardliner candidate Alireza Zakani, who urged Iranian lawmakers to learn from their American counterparts and take a tougher stance toward social media platforms.
Beyond the election discourse, MPs, former ministers, and Friday Prayer Imams have expressed similar views in various contexts, such as the mandatory hijab law for women, justifying it in the same way they defend online censorship.
Authoritarian State Media: A Psychological Conduit
In authoritarian states, politicians usually set the narrative, but it is the duty of state media to psychologically condition the public into accepting their rationale. These outlets play a crucial role in promoting government agendas by exploiting international crises to bolster support for domestic repressive policies — a pattern evident in countries like Russia, China, and Egypt.
Media Effect: Agenda-Setting and Political Priming
Media plays a crucial role in influencing public attitudes on specific topics, particularly through agenda-setting and priming. Agenda-setting functions in two ways: first, by drawing attention to specific issues through increased coverage (issue agenda-setting); and second, by shaping how individuals interpret these issues by selectively emphasizing certain aspects associated with them (attribute agenda-setting). This process can lead to priming effect, where the media’s focus on a particular topic influences how audiences evaluate and respond to related issues in their everyday lives.
As individuals consume media stories, they form cognitive representations, known as “mental models,” based on media coverage of these issues. When the media introduces bias into its reporting, it alters the mental models individuals construct. Since these models are relied upon for future decision-making, they affect how individuals assess and respond to relevant issues they encounter in real life.
This suggests when Iran’s state media prime the audience with biased narratives about Western bans on TikTok, they may influence how individuals perceive and evaluate the country’s own censorship practices. Such narratives may undermine public capacity to advocate for their digital rights, as individuals’ understanding of online censorship is shaped by biased comparisons to foreign policies and exaggerated security concerns.
To effectively prime public opinion, Iran’s state media has employed a multifaceted strategy in its coverage of the TikTok crisis since 2019.
A) Extensive and Consistent Coverage
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Media priming effects fade over time, making extensive and consistent coverage essential to sustain influence on audience perceptions. To maintain this influence, state media has continuously prioritized coverage of the TikTok crisis, keeping the issue at the forefront of public attention. This is evident in the stark contrast between state media coverage and that of foreign-based Persian-language outlets, with the latter devoting significantly less attention to the topic despite having a larger audience in the country.
B) Strategic Use of Keywords
Politicians often use specific keywords to shape how the public interprets events, aligning those interpretations with their agendas. These keywords serve functions such as defining problems, identifying causes, addressing moral issues, and proposing solutions.
In Iranian politicians’ statements and the state media coverage of TikTok, terms like “national security,” “espionage,” “privacy,” and “freedom of expression” frequently appeared. Together, these terms framed cyberspace as a security threat, associating it with risk of espionage and privacy breaches linked to foreign actors. Notably, “freedom of expression” was used to accuse Western states of hypocrisy for criticizing Iran for censorship while enforcing similar restrictions for their own national security. As a result, government interference, through measures such as banning and blocking platforms, was presented as the solution.
This portrayal of the internet and social media as a security threat potentially contribute to a climate where people, feeling increasingly unsafe, become more accepting of authoritarian control. The framing of online activities as dangerous creates a sense of vulnerability, which makes individuals more likely to accept increased government surveillance and regulation, viewing such measures as necessary for their protection.
C) Global Coverage of TikTok Bans
Mental models store both temporal and spatial information about the issues they represent, meaning individuals recall not only facts but also the time, place, and actors involved. This contextual memory influences how audiences respond to events that directly affect their lives.
Leveraging this dynamic, Iranian state media provided extensive coverage of regions where TikTok faced regulation, such as U.S. states and the European Union. They also frequently spotlighted critical remarks from prominent U.S. politicians regarding social media platforms, including former and current presidents, secretaries, and senators, alongside similar rhetoric from Iranian officials. This approach framed Iran’s censorship policies as part of a broader global trend, rather than an isolated measure.
D) The Use of Disinformation
Extensive and frequent coverage alone is insufficient to create a significant media effect for audiences with low trust in media. In Iran, where state media is generally distrusted, additional tactics like spreading disinformation and organizing biased panel discussions are often used to manipulate perceptions and maintain control.
This approach became particularly evident following TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew’s congressional hearing on March 23, 2023. Shortly after the hearing, which was portrayed as a “trial” and aired repeatedly on state TV, Rohollah Momennasab, a prominent conspiracy theorist and advocate for strict online censorship, made a false claim. He said the U.S. RESTRICT Act had already passed, criminalizing the use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) with penalties of up to 20 years in prison and a one-million-dollar fine.
Similarly, on March 24, 2023, the Twitter account of Iran Newspaper, the official publication of the Iranian government, falsely claimed Twitter (now X), Instagram, and TikTok were blocked in France. None of these apps had been blocked in France; instead, the French Minister for Transformation and Public Administration had merely requested a ban on the recreational use of these apps on government-issued phones.
Has the State Campaign on the TikTok Crisis Had Any Impact on Public Attitudes Toward Online Censorship in Iran?
The short answer is no. Over the past five years, internet usage in Iran has increased, with more people turning to VPNs to bypass government censorship. Iran’s internet penetration rate now stands at 81.7%, well above the global average of 66.2%. Notably, VPN usage has surged by over 90%, and during the 2022 protests, it spiked by an astonishing 3000%. This highlights the public’s strong demand for unrestricted internet access, despite the government’s efforts to control it.
That said, the detrimental global impact of Western censorship cannot be overlooked. When these governments restrict platforms like TikTok, they establish a troubling precedent that legitimizes censorship under the guise of national security. Western leaders must recognize the broader consequences of these actions, as such restrictions in democratic nations are increasingly being used to justify oppressive censorship in authoritarian regimes.
