For the Persian New Year, the Obama Administration gave the gift of online learning to citizens in Iran.
Specifically, the Treasury Department authorized the export of academic exchanges and educational services to Iran last week, announcing the policy change on March 20, the day that Iranians celebrate Nowruz, the holiday marking the Persian New Year. The new General License G covers online classes, including Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and fee-based digital educational tools, as well as traditional academic exchanges between American and Iranian universities. It is the latest in a series of steps by the U.S. government to enhance freedom of expression and access to information in the sanctioned country.
The new General License addresses an emerging issue that impacts ordinary individuals living in sanctioned countries: outdated U.S. policies which prevent companies from making, among other things, free educational materials and services available without explicit authorization from the Treasury Department. In January, for example, Coursera announced that it was going block access to its free online educational materials in Iran, Sudan, and Cuba because of the risk of violating U.S. sanctions. (Coursera originally indicated that it planned to stop serving Syria, too, but the company revised its policy after learning that Syrian General License No. 11A covered its products. The inconsistency highlights the problems created by the patchwork of existing authorizations for this type of technology, which ultimately have an unintended impact on ordinary individuals.) With General License G, Coursera and other companies that offer MOOCs can legally resume activities in Iran.
This is not the first time that the U.S. government has updated its Iranian sanctions policies to address these and related free expression issues. In fact, since 2009, policymakers have gradually expanded carve-outs under the Iranian sanctions regulations to make it legal for American companies to export information and communications tools and services to Iranian civilians. Four years ago, the Treasury Department authorized the export of free and publicly available Internet-based communications software including email services, chat applications, and web browsers made by American companies. Treasury provided additional guidance in 2012, giving specific examples of technologies that are permissible under that General License. President Obama addressed the issue in his 2012 Nowruz remarks as well, referencing the “electronic curtain [that] has fallen around Iran” and emphasizing that “new guidelines [will] make it easier for American businesses to provide software and services into Iran.”
Building on those precedents, the Administration issued its broadest authorization last year just before the June 2013 Iranian Presidential election. General License D made it legal for U.S. companies to export software, services, and hardware to Iran, allowing the sale of laptops and cell phones in the country as well as a host of tools like anti-virus software and Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to enable more secure communications. Treasury revised and updated that license last month in order to clarify some outstanding questions about the original policy. Now, with General License G, the agency has addressed a related issue regarding access to online educational tools and services.
Civil society groups like the National Iranian American Council applauded the latest General License, commending the Administration for “working to minimize the damage of sanctions against ordinary Iranians.” But progress in Iran also highlights the growing need to update other comprehensive U.S. sanctions to promote the free flow of information. As we argued in the Open Technology Institute's December 2013 policy paper analyzing the impact of technology sanctions, precedents established in Iranian policy should be applied more broadly in order to extend similar benefits to civilians living in Sudan, Cuba, and Syria. Streamlining and harmonizing the treatment of communications technology, these sanctions regimes will not only benefit citizens in each of those countries — they will also make it much easier for companies to comply with existing restrictions across the board, increasing the likelihood that they will make their products available. The same logic applies to online educational services like those covered by General License G.
The ability of individuals in Iran to access information online is looking a little bit brighter in the new year. With any luck, similar policies will extend the same benefits to citizens in other sanctioned countries soon.
