The internet blackout imposed by Iranian authorities in the wake of the Middle East war entered its ‘unimaginable’ 50th day on Saturday, according to internet market watchdog Monitor Netblocks. 

Netblocks’ social media page X wrote on Saturday, ‘Iran has been cut off from the global internet for seven weeks and has entered its 50th day after 1,176 hours of ‘digital blackout.’

‘The figures highlight the damage the internet blackout is causing to the livelihoods and human rights of most Iranians, leaving them deprived of a service considered essential to modern society,’ Netblocks said.

Netblocks said the internet blackout in Iran was imposed after the US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, the longest nationwide shutdown on record until April 5.

Netblocks’ monitoring noted at the time, ‘North Korea has never been connected to the global internet.’ Some countries have experienced prolonged intermittent or regional-level restrictions.'

Iran's heavily restricted local intranet has been operating throughout the war, allowing people to connect to domestic websites.

Some resort to virtual private networks (VPNs) to connect to the world wide web for news or to access restricted social media networks like Instagram, hiding their IP addresses in the rare moments when network bandwidth is available.

Since the war began, Iranian authorities have been issuing notices warning of arrest or imprisonment to anyone suspected of using a VPN.