As Information and Communications Technology Minister Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi announced on Monday “the restricted access to social networks in Iran amid ongoing protests against the government’s economic and social policies is a temporary measure and rumors about the permanent closure of the social networks do not correspond to the reality.”

The made restrictions, however temporary, has had some ramifications for businesses, in particular small ones, in Iran.

According to Deputy Head of New Businesses Committee of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA) Afshin Kolahi, there are 10,000 to 15,000 totally virtual businesses in Iran.

While there is not an official data about the number of Telegram channels or virtual business pages, via which domestic entrepreneurs provide services to customers, advertise, do marketing and run their businesses in general, some claim that during the past few days such businesses have been terribly damaged due to the employed intelligent filtering on web and specific social media apps, including Telegram, which is the most popular social networking platform in Iran with 40 million members.

According to unofficial reports, small virtual businesses have suffered major financial damages during the past days and a chorus of dissatisfaction is being run among their owners.

The recent demonstrations began over economic grievances, while a large number of small and medium-sized enterprises are closed or are operating with half of their capacity and 3.1 million of Iranians are still unemployed. The government’s decision on putting controls on the Internet access and messaging apps, under such conditions, has unfortunately exacerbated the economic conditions of virtual Iranian businesses.

President Hassan Rouhani’s government, which underlines the notion of “E-government” and electronic communication, is fully aware of the dominant economic circumstances and the consequences of its made decision on economy and does not seem to be content with the ongoing situations, though.

“One of the main targets of the government has been resolving unemployment and expansion of new businesses as well as reliance on cyberspace,” Azari Jahromi Tweeted on Tuesday morning, “it is my duty to apologize hundred thousands of Iranians who suffered financial losses due to recent unrest. The government is holding talks with Supreme National Security Council to remove the made-up restrictions when peace is restored.”

It seems that the government, facing a dilemma, had to choose between economic benefits and security issues.

President Rouhani, in his first comments about the protests, aired on national television on Sunday night, said “people have the right to criticize”, but said the authorities would not tolerate antisocial behavior. He said criticism was “different from violence and destroying public properties”.

Telegram filtration in Iran was temporarily removed on Tuesday night.

The post Filtered apps suffocate domestic businesses appeared first on Iran News Daily.

The EU’s top court will decide Wednesday if ride-hailing app Uber is an ordinary taxi company and should be regulated as such, in a decision that will be closely watched around the world.

The case is yet another thorn in the side for scandal-rocked Uber, which has drawn the fury of local taxi drivers and officials for flouting local regulations.

It also comes the same week as one of its drivers admitted to the attempted rape and murder of a British embassy worker coming home from a night out in Beirut, Lebanon.

Uber, the biggest name in the exploding gig economy, claims it is a mere service provider, connecting consumers with drivers in more than 600 cities.

But it has run into huge opposition from taxi companies and other competitors who say this allows it to dodge costly regulations such as training and licensing requirements for drivers and vehicles.

The case was brought by a taxi drivers’ association in the Spanish city of Barcelona, where belief runs high that Uber is a taxi company that should be subject to rules governing such vehicles.

The court’s senior advisor, Advocate General Maciej Szpunar agreed in an opinion in May arguing that Uber “whilst innovative, falls within the field of transport”.

“Uber can thus be required to obtain the necessary licences and authorisations under national law,” he said.

– A rough ride –

The company reacted sharply, saying the opinion would change little in practice and only harm innovation.

“To be considered a transport company will not change the regulations we are subject to in most European countries,” a spokesman for Uber said.

“It will however hurt the necessary reform of outdated laws which prevent millions of Europeans being able to find a reliable ride with just one click,” the spokesman said.

The opinions given by the ECJ’s advocate generals — its top lawyers — are often followed by the court’s judges.

Uber has had a rough ride in Spain, where a judge ruled in 2014 that its UberPop service risked breaking the law, leading to the Barcelona submission to the ECJ.

Early last year it decided to only operate a limited a version of its UberX service in Spain which uses licensed, professional drivers instead of the amateurs who had previously worked via the UberPop application.

Uber has already had problems with the law in several European countries, particularly France where the company was forced to overhaul its business model.

In November a labour court in London, where the company is threatened with losing its license, said it had to pay the drivers a minimum wage and give them paid leave.

Uber does not employ drivers or own vehicles, but instead relies on private contractors with their own cars, allowing them to run their own businesses.

Licensed taxi drivers meanwhile often have to undergo hundreds of hours of training, and they accuse Uber of endangering their jobs by using more affordable drivers who need only a GPS to get around.

The post Taxi or app? Uber faces big EU court decision appeared first on Iran News Daily.