A controversial snap vote by Iranian lawmakers on progressing an internet restrictions bill has been overturned, but proponents are still expected to move forward with the legislation.
The outlines of the so-called “Protection Bill” were approved in a controversial meeting of 19 lawmakers on Tuesday, with one negative vote.
Later, the parliament’s regulations department overturned the vote. It said that the meeting and the vote – which were held despite parliament guidelines that indicate all reviews must be halted when parliament is focused on the budget bill – were invalid.
Voting on and reviewing the bill has been delegated to a specialised committee after proponents invoked an article of the constitution that allows some bills to be deferred to such committees that would have the power to ratify and “experimentally” implement legislation.
The vote on Tuesday faced significant backlash online.
The sole lawmaker who voted against the bill mounted an effort to return it to voting in parliament. Jalal Rashidi wrote on Twitter on Wednesday morning that his petition to take the legislation out of the specialised committee has so far garnered 130 signatures – out of 290 lawmakers – and more are signing up.
Most popular global services and websites, including YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and Telegram are filtered in Iran, prompting Iranians to use virtual private networks (VPNs) to circumvent restrictions. But the bill also aims to criminalise the distribution of VPNs through jail terms and fines.
