Anti-government protests erupted in Iran, causing nationwide internet traffic to plummet to "near zero."

PANews reported on January 9th that, according to Decrypt, Iranian authorities have implemented a nationwide internet blackout due to the ongoing anti-government protests. Cloudflare data shows that since 18:45 UTC (22:15 local time), internet traffic in Iran has been "almost completely zero." The protests are fueled by high inflation, currency collapse, and pressure on people's livelihoods, and have recently escalated further after the exiled crown prince called for large-scale demonstrations. It is currently unclear whether satellite internet services such as SpaceX's Starlink are available in Iran. NetBlocks described this as a "nationwide digital blockade," which will severely restrict the dissemination of protest images.