What is happening in Iran is more than a technical disruption. It is a prolonged restriction on access to one of the most essential public utilities of modern life: the internet. NetBlocks has reported that Iran’s blackout has continued for weeks and is being managed through a class-based, tiered system, where access is not equal but distributed selectively. Reuters likewise reported that authorities have introduced a temporary “Internet Pro” arrangement that gives businesses broader access while the wider public remains heavily restricted.
This is why many observers describe the situation as digital apartheid. The term is not used lightly. When connectivity depends on social position, institutional approval, or economic usefulness, the internet stops being a shared civil resource and becomes a privilege. In effect, some groups are allowed to remain connected to the global economy and global information, while ordinary citizens are pushed into a separate and more constrained digital world. NetBlocks itself has described Iran’s current arrangement as a class-based tiered system, which captures the basic injustice at the heart of the policy.
The consequences for daily life are severe. Modern work, education, banking, health information, and family communication all depend on stable access to the open internet. When that access is restricted, students fall behind, workers lose clients, entrepreneurs lose markets, and families lose reliable channels of communication. Reuters reported that Iran’s blackout has created substantial economic damage, with losses estimated at up to tens of millions of dollars per day, and that freelancers and small businesses are among the hardest hit. In a country already under pressure, the shutdown deepens insecurity rather than relieving it.
The damage to digital businesses and startups is especially serious. These enterprises rely on fast, open, and predictable access to platforms, cloud services, payment systems, and customers beyond national borders. A selective internet regime undermines that foundation. It does not merely slow commerce; it distorts the entire ecosystem in which innovation survives. When one group is permitted to function online and another is cut off, markets cease to be fair, and opportunity becomes uneven by design. Reuters’ reporting on the “Internet Pro” scheme shows precisely this logic: economic connectivity is preserved for some, while the general public continues to face restrictive conditions.
The social cost is just as troubling. Internet access is not only about business; it is also about belonging. It allows people to learn, speak, seek help, and remain part of a broader social world. When that connection is denied, people experience frustration, uncertainty, and isolation. Public-health authorities have warned that social isolation and loneliness have serious consequences for physical and mental health. The U.S. Surgeon General’s advisory states that loneliness and disconnection can lead to poor health outcomes, while the CDC notes that social isolation and loneliness increase the risk of serious mental and physical health conditions. WHO has similarly warned that loneliness and social isolation have a major impact on mental health and quality of life.
For a population living under digital restriction, those risks can intensify. People who cannot communicate freely or access reliable information may feel trapped, stressed, and cut off from support systems. This is especially damaging for young people, gig workers, students, and families who depend on digital tools for everyday stability. In that sense, the internet blackout is not simply a communications policy. It becomes a psychological pressure system that widens anxiety and reduces resilience. The longer such restrictions last, the more they erode trust in institutions and the more they fracture social life.
Iran’s leadership may present this policy as temporary, defensive, or necessary. But the reality on the ground tells a different story. A society cannot thrive when access to knowledge, work, and communication is rationed by class. A government that shuts down the public internet while preserving privileged access for selected users is not building resilience; it is institutionalizing inequality. The result is a divided digital order in which ordinary people carry the heaviest burden, businesses struggle to survive, and mental well-being is quietly but profoundly damaged. That is the true meaning of digital apartheid.
Assistant Professor at the University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences in Tehran, Iran. He earned his Ph.D. in Gerontology with honors in 2017, following his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Rehabilitation Sciences. Dr. Rashedi is an esteemed member of several prestigious organizations, including the Gerontological Society of America (GSA), the International Society to Advance Alzheimer's Research and Treatment (ISTAART), and the American Psychological Association (APA). His research primarily focuses on mental health and psychogeriatrics. Since 2019, Dr. Rashedi has been a Senior Collaborator for the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) at the Institute for Health Metrics Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington in the United States.