
Iraq blocks Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, and Instagram, shuts down internet - anigbrowl
https://netblocks.org/reports/iraq-blocks-facebook-twitter-whatsapp-and-instagram-amid-civil-unrest-zA4zGlyR
======
Ahmed90
Iraqi here (But I live in Turkey), protests were raging yesterday and today,
first social media was taken down now the whole internet from mid (Baghdad) to
the rest of the south of the country

Here is a local service monitor for all major ISPs in Iraq:
[http://akonet.info](http://akonet.info)

This is the usual procedure by the "freedom" government they do this every
time, the only issue is this time the protestors are not carrying any flags or
any political or religious figures names etc... only the Iraqi flag and
burning Iranian flags,

so far it's people(sometimes people and the army) vs government... few people
got killed already, there is news the Baghdad airport has fallen into the
hands of the protestors, and most of the main roads are blocked and crowded
with people

//UPDATE:

All cities are offline except Kurdistan up north

~~~
anovikov
So the protests have no religious colouring? Like, it's not Shia vs Sunni vs
Kurds vs Commies vs whatever, just a protest against poor government
performance?

If so, it's a sign of good progress in Iraqi society and mindset. Such a thing
wouldn't be possible just 10 years ago, it was always sort of 'us' vs 'them',
these groups being ethnically and/or religiously defined.

~~~
Ahmed90
"So far" yes

------
yorwba
I recall reading somewhere that internet shutdowns during protests are usually
counterproductive. People who were previously only voicing their frustration
online or passing the time with entertainment are suddenly left with a lot of
free time on their hands. While a shutdown can prevent coordination on the
national scale, it can't stop people from taking to the streets and organizing
spontaneously.

EDIT: Found my source: [https://www.iafrikan.com/2019/05/06/shutting-down-
social-med...](https://www.iafrikan.com/2019/05/06/shutting-down-social-media-
does-not-reduce-violence-but-rather-fuels-it/)

 _" Under a blackout, each successive day of protest had more violence than
would typically happen as a protest unfolded with continued internet access.
Meanwhile, the effects of shutdowns on peaceful demonstrations, which are
usually more likely to rely on careful coordination through digital channels,
were ambiguous and inconsistent. In no scenario were blackouts consistently
linked to reduced levels of protest over the course of several days. Instead
of curtailing protest, they seemed to encourage a tactical shift to strategies
that are less orderly, more chaotic and more violent."_

~~~
HNLurker2
Except when Russia does it:
[https://www.forbes.com/sites/zakdoffman/2019/08/08/russian-s...](https://www.forbes.com/sites/zakdoffman/2019/08/08/russian-
security-agencies-secretly-shut-moscows-mobile-internet-to-control-protestors-
report/)

~~~
utrack
They didn't really shut it down for the whole city though - they only took
down cell stations for a couple of blocks around the protest; wired connection
and cellular for those in the rest of the city was just fine.

------
rahuldottech
This explains why I've been seeing #save_the_iraqi_people and related hashtags
all over Instagram. For those not in the know:

> demonstrators in Baghdad and elsewhere protest against lack of jobs and poor
> services.

[https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/10/baghdad-police-
open-f...](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/10/baghdad-police-open-fire-
anti-government-protesters-191001143248615.html)

~~~
vkou
Contrast the public and political reaction to these events with the public and
political reaction to the protests in Hong Kong.

~~~
kingo55
What are you implying?

~~~
emptyfile
That not one of you is sincere.

When a protestor in hong kong gets shot "the whole world" is on its feet, when
SA and USA starve to death 80 000 children in Yemen no one bats an eye.

~~~
CathedralBorrow
I'm not going to deny the hypocrisy, but I think it's a very human thing
really. Do you respond equally to every unjust death in the world?

~~~
emptyfile
Not sure what you're asking me.

No, I'm not brainwashed enough to think that shooting a violent protestor is
the same as intentionally starving to death a whole goddamned country.

We don't even have to talk about how american police act... that's a whole
other dimension of hypocrisy, unfathomable to me personally.

~~~
vkou
Ah, he was a violent protestor. Perfectly justified to kill him on the spot,
then.

The protestors in Hong Kong were not violent at all, of course. Not a single
on harmed a hair on a peace officer's head, or even so much as scratched a
pane of glass...

------
aminecodes
The Iraqi people have been suffering silently for the past years; they are
trapped between ISIS, Iranian influence, destruction of the war, and the US-
backed corrupt government. People are fed up.

------
Merrill
There will continue to be unrest in Iraq until an all-Shiite government is in
control.

At the time of Gulf War II under W, the population was about 20% Sunni, 20%
Kurdish, and 60% Shiite. So if you disarm the minority ruling Sunni
establishment and instead pledge to install a democracy, a Shiite government
is the logical conclusion.

Since realizing their mistake, the US has attempted to patch together some
multi-religious, multi-ethnic government, but these are all destined to
failure. The Kurds want to be left to their own devices, the majority Shiites
want to rule the south of the country with most of the oil, and they want the
Sunnis left out of power in the deserts to the West.

George HW, being smarter than George W, pulled his punches, left Saddam in
power, and left him with helicopters to kill enough Shiites to prevent a
successful rebellion of the "marsh Arabs", as they were called in news reports
back then.

~~~
alzaeem
This "analysis" is so wrong.. power is already dominated entirely by Shiaa
governments, except for Kurdistan region, but that has little to no effect
outside Kurdistan. The problem is that much of the current government
officials are corrupt and have their loyalties to Iran. They are busy
enriching themselves. Let alone the fact that they armed a powerful militia
group that's completely beholden to Iran.. Much thanks to the US for
destabilizing the country and handing it over to their so called "enemy" Iran.
There should be no doubts that the government in Basrah is all Shiite, yet
people IN Basrah have been protesting very strongly in the past year. Because
simply this government doesn't serve the iraqi people.

------
georgeburdell
Starlink can’t come soon enough. Imagine internet beyond the grasp of control
freak governments

~~~
JumpCrisscross
> _Imagine internet beyond the grasp of control freak governments_

Radio jammers.

There are very few technological solutions to political problems.

~~~
markovbot
Deploying and maintaining radio jamming devices is _way_ more difficult and
expensive than telling an ISP to shut down service.

~~~
TeMPOraL
Depends on the frequencies and types of antennas used. Doesn't take much to
disrupt a radio-based service (people do this by accident, that's why RF
regulations exist everywhere). It's not that much of an expense for a
government to set up a few antennas and make them put out half a megawatt of
noise each.

~~~
baroffoos
You can also use directional antennas to find and destroy RF jammers

~~~
hutzlibu
Thats why they would be probably based on military bases etc.

------
djsumdog
Well mission accomplished .. I guess. A great documentary if you haven't seen
it is "Iraq: No End in Sight." It's pretty clear that the completely failed
(non-existent) reconstruction efforts of the Bush administration would lead
eventually to a failed state.

The same thing is happening in Libya after the Obama era bombings. These
places weren't democratic paradises before or anything; I'm not saying that.
They had corruption and human rights issues -- but they were stable. People
who didn't protest against the government and weren't in poverty could usually
live in relative peace. You can say the same thing about China to some extent
as well.

~~~
quaquaqua1
All warfare actions conducted by the United States are excuses for agencies to
spend money, and the money goes to corporations that are contolled by
politically connected individuals. The dividends from the government
consumption of these items enrich the people who are giving the orders to
launch the missiles.

It is beyond disheartening that innocent people die because of this. I would
rather just pay the money, if I must, and let the warheads rust in peace.

~~~
elboru
I usually hear this kind of statement, is it really that simple? Aren’t there
other geopolitical interests from the strongest economy in the world?

~~~
alchemism
A still-relevant classic analysis of US military-commercial ventures:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_Is_a_Racket](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_Is_a_Racket)

~~~
CapricornNoble
One of the most distinguished veterans of the Marine Corps, and simultaneously
one of the only Marine generals to NEVER feature on the Commandant's Reading
List. I love posing that question to junior Marines as introspective food for
thought.

------
trust07007707
hey guys, I want to take this opportunity to ask if anyone here was born in
the early 70s in Baghdad and went to Baghdad College high school
([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baghdad_College](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baghdad_College))
in the early to late 80s. We left in 87 to London, UK then Boston, US after
that, just before the end of the war with Iran, and I'd like to reconnect with
any classmates/old friends who may also be into tech... I'm sure everyone is
all over the world by now, in different places. Thank you, and take care
wherever you are.

------
harshreality
From a pragmatic perspective, what is the West and the US in particular
supposed to do about this?

We shouldn't have gone into Iraq in 2003 in the first place, but we did, so
what now?

Our government is going to keep its boot on the neck of Iraq and stay involved
over there as long as Iraq still has oil, right? If the problem now is more
that we have too little influence, so what? Are we supposed to try regime
change again because it worked so well last time?

The current Iraqi regime may not be good, but neither was Saddam. We still
should have left Saddam alone, excepting targeted strikes if we ever got good
intelligence about WMD programs.

~~~
zepearl
If somebody leaves a void (US?) then the next strongest force (Iran?) will try
to fill it.

In the case of Iraq (maybe similar for Syria?) I guess that there aren't
probably big motivations/interests nor strong cultural similarities for the
West to create something similar to a "Marshall Plan" (
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshall_Plan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshall_Plan)
) to kickstart again the nation and then make it work long-term from both an
economic and indirectly social perspective. Therefore, I think that Iraq will
just drift more and more towards what will look like the next-best offer(s)
(Iran?).

------
divbyzer0
Cui bono?

Whom would benefit from a social media organised protest/riot against the
government?

This comes as the Iraqi president Mahdi anounces a potential arms deal with
Russia as part of a diverification of strategic allies.

Until now, arms deals were exclusively with US.

Mahdi has campaigned on a theme that US invlovement in Iraq has not been
entirely positive.

~~~
wazoox
The US (and allies) pushed Saddam into war against Iran. Then there was the
Gulf War, then sanctions that reportedly killed hundred of thousands of people
(remember Madeleine Albright testifying that it was "worth it"?). Then the
unforgivable, unjustifiable war of 2003. Then civil war and unrest, then ISIS.
Iraq has been constantly at war and suffering for 39 years and counting
_because of the US_.

Isn't imperialism wonderful. It makes me sick and I don't even know a single
Iraqi :/

------
stefek99
Just from the past couple of months:

• Kashmir: [https://netblocks.org/reports/pakistan-shuts-down-
internet-i...](https://netblocks.org/reports/pakistan-shuts-down-internet-in-
kashmir-restricts-access-in-punjab-and-beyond-3Anw7dB2)

• Russia: [https://netblocks.org/reports/evidence-of-internet-
disruptio...](https://netblocks.org/reports/evidence-of-internet-disruptions-
in-russia-during-moscow-opposition-protests-XADErzBg) • Bangladesh:
[https://www.economist.com/news/2019/09/04/bangladesh-bans-
mo...](https://www.economist.com/news/2019/09/04/bangladesh-bans-mobile-
phones-for-1m-rohingya-refugees)

• Sudan: [https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/06/13/end-
mass-...](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/06/13/end-mass-
protests-sudan-has-cut-off-internet-access-nationwide-heres-
why/?noredirect=on)

• London: [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/london-
tube-...](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/london-tube-wifi-
down-internet-not-working-underground-protest-extinction-
rebellion-a8873681.html)

"Shutting down digital infrastructure in response to a peaceful protest is
deeply authoritarian," said Griff Ferris, legal and policy officer at Big
Brother Watch."

I've heard they did not shut down internet in Hong Kong as lots of mainland
China is routed via Hong Kong...

------
gregknicholson
If anyone in or near Iraq can read this, you can spread messages using person-
to-person tools that don't need the internet at all.

For example, using the Scuttlebutt network (SSB), you can deliver messages
from your contacts, using Bluetooth or just by being on the same wifi. They
can be public messages, or encrypted private messages so only certain
recipients can decode them. Manyverse
([https://manyver.se](https://manyver.se)) is a decent Android app for SSB.

There are other tools like Briar, which I don't know much about, but other
people here may be able to help...

------
ineedasername
If you were in Iraq, would there have been any reasonable countermeasures,
accessible to the average person, that could have preserved access? Or is it
limited to something like a sat phone/sat internet?

~~~
toast0
It's not apparent from the article if phone calls are blocked. It's probably
not cheap, and it's certainly easy to track, but you can run data over
international voice calls. Probably works better on a real landline, but
should work a bit over mobile too.

~~~
jacobush
You'd have to know a modem pool to call and have an account there, I wouldn't
even know where to start. Especially if I was already cut off from the
Internet.

~~~
toast0
The question was asking about prep work that could have been done. Now is the
time to print out some modem pools and get an account ;)

However, if you know someone technical out of the country, you can call them
and ask them to set something up and get you the details. (Or you can't call
them, and there you go).

If you're talking with people on things like Signal or WhatsApp, where phone
numbers are user ids, you automatically know their phone number to call them
in case the chat service is unreachable.

------
reubens
From what I’ve gathered, disenfranchised citizens in Baghdad are protesting,
and the government has responded by shutting down the internet. I understand
it’s reactionary but what is their logic here?

~~~
whatevertrevor
You mean the logic in shutting down the internet? Countries do that these days
(see Kashmir) to keep the protests under control by blocking communication and
collaboration among the protesters. It increases the barrier to discovery and
participation in a protest basically.

~~~
reubens
Thanks. It seemed to me counterintuitive to respond to protests about
inadequate services by cutting off another service (fanning the flames)

~~~
ineedasername
Yes, there's another comment here somewhere that points to a study where
showing violence tends to increase post-shutdown compared to leaving
communications open. I suppose leaving things open lets people organize more,
but they tend to be more peaceful in those gatherings. Just supposition
though.

------
trust07007707
LORA based mesh could help here

[https://nootropicdesign.com/projectlab/2018/10/20/lora-
mesh-...](https://nootropicdesign.com/projectlab/2018/10/20/lora-mesh-
networking/)

~~~
viraptor
Lora is not for general usage / internet. Basic messaging - maybe. But it
achieves a few kbps in good conditions.

~~~
trust07007707
Recall we had a whole interactive/social world in the 80s with BBSs with 300
baud acoustically coupled modems.

------
TenJack
I really hope the SpaceX satellite internet works.

------
yosefzeev
So here is a prime example of a government using the power to censor the
internet during a revolution...

------
wiz21c
I guess the freedom box was for such issues :

[https://www.freedomboxfoundation.org](https://www.freedomboxfoundation.org)

but I guess it needs internet at least...

------
monksy
What I took from this: Earthlink still exists?!

------
api
I see that $1T Iraq war spread freedom and democracy across the Middle East.
Great bargain.

------
markus_zhang
Is it a pro or anti-Iran protest? I think it's an anti one but not very
sure...

~~~
avocado4
They are burning Iranian flags.

------
howtofly
Considering this country is literally liberated by the US, it is totally
hilarious!

------
luismmolina
What about using apps like Bridgefy or Firechat?

------
pvaldes
IP over Avian Carriers does not look so bad idea now

------
webwielder2
Ahh, the smell of freedom!

------
throwaway66920
Why are they burning Iranian flags?

~~~
Ahmed90
Because the government is backed by Iran (puppet) and it's fully corrupt?

~~~
yongjik
Wait, didn't America wage a war to install a pro-American government in Iraq?
Are they somehow pro-American and pro-Iran at the same time, or did they
switch alliances while nobody in the west was paying attention?

~~~
Maultasche
The initial government was pro-American, but the consequence of pushing a
country to have democratic elections is that they sometimes elect people that
you don't like.

When you want a country to be free and democratic, you can't also tell them
who to elect. You have to choose one or the other. The United States has often
chosen the latter while pretending to want the former, but at least with Iraq
they seem to be mostly hands off (in recent years).

~~~
mful
> The initial government was pro-American, but the consequence of pushing a
> country to have democratic elections is that they sometimes elect people
> that you don't like.

I don't the right prior here is "elections = real democracy", for cases like
Iraq. The US has long history of installing "democratic" governments that are
not actually democratic, but rather military states who violently suppress the
people, but support US interests. The list of countries where this has borne
out is long, but if you are interested, an easy place to start would be Cold
War era South America (Guatemala and El Salvador being two straightforward
examples).

~~~
kamyarg
Ironically whole thing started with CIA staged double coup(first one did not
work apparently) in Iran during 1953(declassified recently). It was so
successful that they copy-pasted it to LATAM and elsewhere. [1]

Interesting fact: Kermit Roosevelt Jr. a grandson of U.S. president Theodore
Roosevelt, played the lead role in the CIA-sponsored overthrow of Mohammad
Mossadegh, the democratically elected leader of Iran, in August 1953. [2]

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1953_Iranian_coup_d%27%C3%A9ta...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1953_Iranian_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat)

[2]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kermit_Roosevelt_Jr](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kermit_Roosevelt_Jr).

------
ChuckNorris89
And Europe has to pick up the pieces in terms of refugees while the US & Five
Eyes sit back, popcorn in hand, and watch the mess they've made from a safe
distance.

~~~
TeMPOraL
> _And Europe has to pick up the pieces in terms of refugees_

For us (Europe) this is essentially dress rehearsal for upcoming climate-
related migrations, and it turns out we're not handling it well.

~~~
dwoozle
What would handling it “well” mean?

~~~
Faark
Not having populist demagogs reach significant power would be a nice start.
Though I'm not sure if the migrant "crisis" is actually the cause or just a
symptom for deeper issues.

------
DougPhillips88
Sounds like a utopia. I wish to god the USA would do that.

------
johnpowell
I have the pi-hole in the house set to block the same stuff.

------
betimsl
Let's try to deconstruct an oxymoron here: So all these protests are happening
because Iraq is blocking a multi million dollar company? Right?

I know it is bad, but there are alternatives and we as people living on this
planet should not narrow ourselves down to only one channel of communication
that is operating on one channel that is internet.*

And let's face it: because it is so easy to use facebook, people are getting
lazy and numb, more and more dumb and numb people scrolling through other
peoples shit, they don't try to figure out a more complex system where at the
end frees the individual from a controlling state.

Just wake up already.

* Not to mention the fact that facebook reads your messages and all your shit so it can feed you some more shit.

~~~
zahrc
Stop reading just the headlines. They are protesting against poor government
performance, corruption, and all of this stuff. Iraqi government shuts down
the internet as they want, in this case, possibly, to stop the protesters from
organising.

------
mrburton
Part of me says "Now this is a mentally healthy thing to do!" with regards to
Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. I found social media has been becoming
emotionally toxic and highly argumentative. it's so refreshing to not go on
twitter in 6 months, only look at facebook to check up on remote friends and
once in a while check Instagram to see what friends cross the country are
actually doing; minus the false "Look at this new fancy thing!" :)

Do you avoid social media these days? I enjoy HNs because its informative
around technology; not politics etc. So relaxing.

