Report: Iran internet blackout shuts down some 300k online stores in country

The government’s decision to impose an internet blackout amid the protests and riots that have hit different cities across Iran, has reportedly shut down some 300,000 online stores.

According to Shargh Newspaper, the online market is worth almost 750 times that of traditional markets like the key Tajrish marketplace in northern Iranian capital city Tehran and is the source of income for 9 million Iranians.

The report says the internet blackout has also closed down the crypto-currency markets in Iran, where some 12 million people are estimated to have been doing business.

Shargh added, this is not the entire picture when estimating how the government’s decision to turn off the internet for Iranians has affected their everyday livelihoods.

Physicians are also saying that they cannot use the online prescription system, which was just recently launched to replace traditional prescriptions with electronic ones.

This means the patients cannot use the medical insurance system and have to buy expensive medicine from the market.

The decision to impose a blackout on the internet, has been widely criticized for its impact on the lives of people and fueling discontent, especially among the new generations, who form the core population of the recent protests and riots over the death of 22-year-old woman Mahsa Amini in morality police custody in mid-September.

The protests have led to riots and acts of violence and authorities say are masterminded by foreign elements.

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