Iranian protesters battle internet censorship and risk crackdowns to post videos from Mahsa Amini rallies

• Footage has circulated on social media of protests in Iran following the death of Mahsa Amini.
• Iranians have maneuvered around internet outages and restrictions implemented by the government.
• Though there are risks, internet-savvy Iranians are willing to take the chance.

In one video that has been viewed nearly 100,000 times on TikTok, an Iranian girl speaks with her parents about how nobody is safe in their country, saying "the regime kills and doesn't feel guilty," according to creator @persian_femme's translation. The girl, who says in the video that she's 14-years-old, has her face blurred.

As Iranian authorities have periodically shut off internet access in the country since the start of antigovernment protests in earlier this month, videos of protestors, activists, and average citizens in their homes have broken out onto Instagram and TikTok and been shared with audiences all over the world. A wave of footage has shown women in Iran protesting in the streets, including cutting their hair and removing their hijabs, in solidarity with Mahsa Amini — a woman who died in police custody on September 16, who witnesses say was beaten for allegedly breaking Iran's compulsory rules on wearing a hijab.

Iranians have been able to document the brutality they currently face through savvy social media use, maneuvering around internet outages and restrictions on WhatsApp and Instagram. The hashtag #MahsaAmini has appeared on hundreds of thousands of Instagram posts, millions of tweets, and TikToks with over 700 million views in total. But there are also dangers to being so transparent on the internet and fears that authorities could use protesters' posts against them.

"Iranians know that if they actually take photos, videos, they put themselves in danger — that's a thing they definitely know," journalist Niki Mahjoub, who has covered women's rights in Iran and the ongoing protests, told Insider. "But with all of that, they want to change the Islamic Republic narrative about what happened … Nobody should be killed because they just don't want to wear hijabs."

Internet blocks have happened before, and Iranians know how to get around them

The Supreme Council of Cyberspace is responsible for the controls being placed on the internet in Iran, which it has said is a matter of "national security."

"Of course, their definition of national security includes repressing anyone who stands up for their rights," Mahsa Alimardani, a senior researcher with human rights organization Article 19, told Insider. Controls have spread so far as to restrict all direct messaging on video games, for example.

"They also want there to be no flow or documentation of the crimes of the Islamic Republic," Alimardani said. "Social media does not allow them to control the narrative and propaganda they often try to push through the state-controlled media."

On state-controlled television, protestors are depicted as "violent rioters destroying ambulances," Alimardani added, while citizen media has alleged that ambulances have been used to transport armed security forces for the purpose of arresting protestors.

Social media posts have also aided in documenting death counts in the protests, Alimardini said. Iranian officials have acknowledged at least 41 deaths in the demonstrations, although rights groups and activists contend that the actual number is greater.

Iran has shut down access to the internet multiple times in the past as protests have flared, most notably instituting a near total shut down in 2019 after increases in fuel prices drove demonstrators into the streets. Hundreds were killed in security force's crackdown following the internet blackout, according to rights groups.

Demonstrators in this year's protests have been more effective at circumventing internet censorship through tools such as Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) that mask their location, with several activists in Iran telling the Los Angeles Times that their methods for avoiding government tracking them online have advanced in recent years.

"Iranians learned how to play hide and seek with the government," Mahjoub told Insider. "They choose different platforms to work with the way that they want to tell the story."

In response, Iran has a sprawling surveillance apparatus that it uses to monitor online activity and in-person protests. Last month, an Iranian official stated that authorities would use facial recognition technology to enforce its mandatory Hijab laws. Bot accounts have also targeted Iranian Instagram users who post feminist content, according to Coda Story, swarming women's accounts with fake followers.

But there is also a lot of renewed hope associated with the movement driving recent demonstrations. Amini's death has brought the whole country together, Mahjoub said, uniting people with different backgrounds and opinions, because "it's not a thing that a government should do — kill somebody."

This solidarity is spreading further thanks to Iranians finding ways around government censorship. They are "amongst the most tech savvy population in the world," Alimardani said.

"This is not only a women led movement, but it's a Gen Z led movement," she said. "Solidarity is crucial — it helps embolden and empower protesters knowing their fellow Gen Z peers outside of Iran are sharing content and standing with them."