Isik Mater Mar 15
NetBlocks
⚠️ Update: #Iran's internet blackout has entered day 16 as the measure continues in its third week, with the public cut off from international networks for 360 hours. Chosen influencers enjoy whitelisting while state media report a new wave of arrests targeting Starlink users.
Mar 15 at 7:41amWeb
Show threadthe vessel of morgannaMar 15
@netblocks while their domestic networks are down, one of their root nameservers (c.nic.ir) has come back online, now hosted in .nl from what it looks like. I have also been seeing some various .ir IP blocks popping in and out of BGP over the last few days, but nothing with a domestic Iranian route from the looks of it
Show threadDork SideMar 15

@astraleureka @netblocks

The data netblocks provides has come under scrutiny on X.

https://nitter.net/i/status/2032454838953353299

Wired-article from 2021.
https://www.wired.com/story/netblocks-internet-shutdowns/

Show threadthe vessel of morgannaMar 15
@iamdorkside @netblocks it wouldn't hurt if they could cite their info, it's not like BGP data is proprietary or anything. anybody with access to a BGP-speaking router or even just a public looking glass can verify network availability. much of the core infrastructure for the .ir TLD has been offline for weeks; this doesn't necessarily translate to the entire country being offline but does severely disrupt any sites under that TLD at the very least :/
Show threadthe vessel of morgannaMar 15
@iamdorkside @netblocks of course, the visibility of Iranian networks from the outside is much different than the visibility from inside the country - from what I understand there are many privately addressed services inside the country that can only be reached from domestic ISPs. it is also very possible that domestic cellular providers have alternative routes & IP blocks that aren't flagged as Iranian, which may be difficult to spot from an external table view without a probe inside of the network. RIPE Atlas shows the vast majority of probes as offline for ~14 days, but a handful are still online.
Show threadDork SideMar 15
@astraleureka
It would greatly help if @netblocks could stop obfuscating about what their methods are and what their data represents.
Show threadthe vessel of morgannaMar 15
@iamdorkside @netblocks agreed, this sort of information should be clearly documented and verifiable by the public
Show threadIsik Mater Mar 15
@astraleureka @iamdorkside These are active probing metrics with around 10m visible endpoints per country. We built this because there was a need to help validate user reports a decade ago when the workflow was too reliant on user self-reports, which are hard to obtain and quantify during a shutdown. As the post says, this relates to internationally visible networks. It's great if others are looking to monitor the domestic intranet but that isn't in scope or technically viable from the outside.
Show threadDork SideMar 15

@isik5 @astraleureka
Are you responding as a representative of @netblocks?
Someone should definitely be acknowledging that the methodology isn't transparent enough to be independently verifiable.

You also attempt to frame this as a technology oriented, neutral update yet it mentions the starlink arrests without mentioning how the devices ended up there.

If you're going to report on politically loaded details, omitting that context isn't neutrality. It's framing. You know, kind of how like how Alp thinks illegal settlements should have Internet services.

https://nitter.net/atoker/status/920174477983584256

Show threadIsik Mater Mar 15

@iamdorkside @astraleureka

Why shouldn't Gazans, North Koreans, Palestinians, Israelis, settlers, Iranians, or refugees have internet access, or any other civilian community for that matter?

We believe in the free flow of information as a tool to educate, break down barriers, as the best hope to develop a common understanding between communities that don't see eye to eye.

There isn't some hidden agenda here - the mission is to foster a free and open internet for its own sake.

Show threadDork SideMar 15
@isik5 @astraleureka
Is it the official position of @netblocks that "israeli" settlers should have Internet?
Show threadIsik Mater Mar 15

@iamdorkside @astraleureka

The position of NetBlocks is that civilians are entitled to internet access regardless of political stance and collective restrictions on communications infrastructure are generally harmful.

That's a consistent human rights position, not an endorsement of any government. The forceful attempt to portray organisations as something they're not, or in which they have no interest, is the reason I try to avoid engaging in that Israel/Palestine/Iran debate. Good day.