Iran’s government has faced criticism for years from ordinary Iranians, Western governments, the United Nations, and political activists for its draconian attitude toward the internet.

Iranian authorities have lifted a ban on Meta’s instant messaging platform WhatsApp and Google Play as a first step to scale back internet restrictions.

Iran has officially lifted the ban of Meta's WhatsApp messenger and the Google Play Store, a week after the Islamic nation put on hold a stringent Hijab law, which had been passed by the Iranian Parliament in September 2023.

Iranian authorities remove restrictions on Meta's messaging platform WhatsApp and on Google Play, marking an initial move to ease internet limitations.

In September the United States called on Big Tech to help evade online censorship in countries that heavily censor the internet, including Iran.

Many people reached by The Associated Press across the capital, Tehran, and other cities said they had access to the services on computers but not yet on mobile phones. WhatsApp has been the third most popular messaging platform in Iran after Instagram and Telegram.

The move has sparked a debate in Iran, with critics of the restrictions arguing the controls were costly for the country

Iran has lifted restrictions on the Google Play app store and WhatsApp, state news agency IRNA reported on Tuesday. The agency said that the applications have been reactivated by the authorities, with more apps expected to follow soon.

The Supreme Cyberspace Council, which is tasked with safeguarding the internet for Iranian citizens, voted unanimously to lift restrictions on a number of foreign-owned applications during a meeting today,