Joint Statement: Internet Architects & Leaders Express Concern About Iran Internet Shutdown
Internet leaders call for immediate restoration of connectivity for 80 million citizens following Iran's total internet shutdown.
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, January 12, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- To: The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the International CommunityA group of prominent internet architects, operators, and infrastructure leaders has issued a joint statement to the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the International Community regarding the total shutdown of internet connectivity within Iran.
The signatories define the Internet not merely as a network of cables and routers, but as a foundational instrument for human connection, economic survival, and the free flow of information.
The statement strongly condemns the deliberate, total shutdown of Internet connectivity within Iran.
According to the signatories, this action is not a matter of internal traffic management; it is a disconnection of a nation from the world.
By severing the digital lifelines of over 90 million people, the authorities are inflicting profound harm on their own citizens: disabling emergency services, crushing economic activity, and isolating individuals from their families and the global community during a time of crisis.
The statement outlines the following principles:
1. Connectivity is a Fundamental Enabler of Human Rights: In the 21st century, the right to assemble, the right to speak, and the right to access information are inextricably linked to internet access.
2. Protecting the Global Internet Commons: National-scale shutdowns fragment the global network, undermining the stability and trust required for the internet to function as a global commons.
3. Transparency: The technical community condemns the use of BGP manipulation and infrastructure filtering to obscure events on the ground.
The signatories call upon the relevant authorities in Iran to immediately restore full, unfiltered internet access. The statement further calls upon the international technical community to remain vigilant in monitoring connectivity and to support efforts that ensure the internet remains open, interoperable, and accessible to all.
The internet belongs to everyone. It must not be weaponized against the people it was built to serve.
Signed,
(Signatures are on personal title; affiliations are mentioned for indicative purposes)
Internet Pioneers & Governance Leadership
Esther Dyson – Founding Chair, ICANN; Author, “Term Limits: Time and scale in the age of AI”
Geoff Huston – Chief Scientist, APNIC; Internet Hall of Fame Inductee
Andrew Sullivan – Past IAB member, past IAB Chair, past Internet Society President and CEO
George Sadowsky – Former ISOC & ICANN Board Member; Internet Hall of Fame Inductee
Robert Madelin – Former Director-General for Internet matters at the European Commission; Senior Strategist at FIPRA International
Wolfgang Kleinwächter – Professor Emeritus for Internet Policy and Regulation; Former ICANN Board Member
Maarten Botterman – Former Chairman of the ICANN Board; Director, GNKS Consult
Kaveh Ranjbar – Former CIO/CTO, RIPE NCC; Former Board Member, ICANN
Asha Hemrajani – Former Member, ICANN Board of Directors
Desiree Miloshevic – Emeritus Board Member, Internet Society; Member, IGF Multistakeholder Advisory Group
Global Innovation & Business Leadership
Anousheh Ansari – CEO, XPRIZE Foundation; First Female Private Space Explorer
Khaled Koubaa – CEO, Worthy Technology
Policy, Law & Human Rights
Lawrence Lessig – Roy L. Furman Professor of Law and Leadership, Harvard Law School; Founder, Creative Commons
Meredith Whittaker – President, Signal
Bart Groothuis – Member of the European Parliament; Former Head of Cybersecurity, Dutch Ministry of Defence
Daniel Attard – Member of the European Parliament; Vice-Chair, Delegation for relations with Iran
Patrick Breyer – Former Member of the European Parliament; Digital Rights Advocate
Milton L. Mueller – Professor, Georgia Institute of Technology; Director, Internet Governance Project (IGP)
Alec Ross – Distinguished Professor, University of Bologna Business School
Security, Cryptography & Technical Experts
Bruce Schneier – Harvard Kennedy School / Munk School at the University of Toronto
Bart Preneel – Professor of Cryptography and Information Security, KU Leuven
Randy Bush – Researcher, Operator, old Internet curmudgeon, Portland Oregon
Michele Neylon – Founder & CEO, Blacknight Solutions; Former Chair, ICANN Registrar Stakeholder Group
Carmela Troncoso – Scientific Director, Max Planck Institute for Security and Privacy
Jaap-Henk Hoepman – Professor of Privacy by Design, Karlstad University / Radboud University
Simone Fischer-Hübner – Professor for Cybersecurity and Privacy, Karlstad University / Chalmers University of Technology
Stephen Farrell – Research Fellow, Trinity College Dublin
Aurélien Francillon – Professor, EURECOM
Alex Stamos – Lecturer in Computer Science, Stanford University, CSO of Corridor, former CSO of Facebook, Yahoo and SentinelOne
Media Contact & Further Signatories: For press inquiries or leaders in technology and policy wishing to sign this official record, please contact Kaveh Ranjbar at kaveh@kaveh.org.
Kaveh Ranjbar
Former CIO/CTO, RIPE NCC | Former Board Member, ICANN
kaveh@kaveh.org
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