SUBJECT LINE: Digital Iran Reloaded: Iranian Gamer Mitigation Tactics of IRI Information Controls– Monthly Report – April 2024
About the project
My research aims to show the types of censorship circumvention techniques Iranian gamers use and thereafter clarify the gaps between commonly used censorship circumvention tools in the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI). To do so, I will interview Iranian gamers to contextualize their circumvention strategies with VPNs commonly supported and created within the internet freedom community by testing these varied circumvention techniques.
Additionally, I will cross-analyze my findings with the IRI’s internet tiering system that consequently segregates users based on status, ultimately determining the level of access for each individual citizen. Through this lens, I will study internet connectivity and how the so-called “protection bill” is enforcing tiering to mitigate user access and acts of protest in Iran.
The main goal is therefore to produce a solution for better assisting high-risk internet users in Iran, while also highlighting issues of internet access implemented by the IRI. Another broader impact includes providing valuable information to the circumvention tools developer community and internet policy makers, at a global level.
PUBLIC
Activities during April 2024
- Continued phase one of the research with previous participants from my dissertation research.
- I will continue semi-structured interviews on sensitive subject matter with direct regards to the IRI’s methods of suppression and will use purposeful sampling in May.
- Like the initial interview process, I have continued to gather insights in the use of VPNs and DNS use.
- Last month, I learned about gamers use of Psiphon, Ultrasurf, TorBrowser, Argo VPN, Lantern, to name a few, and experiences using European DNS to play MMOs like ESO through Steam Engine, Dead by Daylight using Cloudflare WARP. In some cases, Electro DNS is used to evade censorship, even though there is no blocking on the servers, like with the game Valorant. This is due in part to the uplifting of sanctions. But because of censorship in the IRI and potential account banning by US game companies, DNS is still used. Some players are experiencing ping ranges between 60-80 ping with different Gulf servers. However, certain gamers that are in the same city have different ranges for ping (160), and this seems to be because of the difference between say closeness of places like Doha versus a West EU server.
- This month, I have attained the following insights from users:
- One participant mentioned the possibility of DNS redirection with a VPN connection forwarding traffic outside of the view of Iran by using SSL based VPN to mitigate detection to look like normal traffic.
- For general internet use, participants use github VPNs, NordVPN, or whatever works often switching VPNs, for regular internet, and usually connect to Armenian servers.
- Participants refuse to follow VPN bans, and do not use local applications due to lack of trust, opting instead to use WhatsApp and Discord.
- Participants experience reduction in bandwidth for example one participant had a 300 ping while attempting to play Counter Strike which made it impossible to play, then began using Shecan DNS, which sounds like it was helpful.
- A common ISP for my participants is Irancell.
- Hamrah-e Aval is commonly recommended for SMS.
- I am still waiting to hear about the Global Gathering and ICD.
I wrote a set of survey questions and sent a draft to the Miaan Group. I have been greenlit to implement it in survey format. I will further inquire information from the Miaan Group’s legal specialist as the IRI’s seventh development plan keeps rolling out.
Activities for next month
During May, I will continue phase one of the research by conducting semi-structured interviews with users on their experiences with VPNs, other censorship circumvention tactics, filtering, etc. that have potentially improved issues with ping/latency and access. I will continue to recruit a few more participants using purposeful sampling of known gamers.
In May, I will also:
- Present at the Keystone DH conference in Erie, Pennsylvania. I will have the chance to workshop the Digital Iran website.
- Translate the survey questions in Persian and get feedback from Miaan. Then by June I will disseminate the survey using Survey Monkey (phase 2 of the research).
- I will submit more games to be tested by OONI.