How do they bring people’s lives to a halt by shutting down SIM cards?

They cut off SIM cards; but what stops working is not only a phone. Dynamic codes, banks, insurance, judicial notices, ride-hailing services, and many everyday services are all linked to the same number. There are reports from people who say that, without clear explanation, a defined path to appeal, or an introduction to the issuing body, their SIM cards have been blocked under the label “service suspension with special management.”

When a phone number becomes the key to a large part of digital life, cutting it off can be more than disconnecting communication: it can amount to depriving people of digital identity.

Who gives the order? On what basis? For how long? And where, exactly, are people supposed to appeal?

Kambiz Hosseini addresses this in “The Program.”

“One Iran hears your voice” Monday to Thursday at 11 p.m. Tehran From Iran International Television

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