Iraq bans social media until February 13

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The Iraqi Ministry of Communications announced on Monday that social media websites are banned in Iraq until February 13.

“The ban will coincide with students’ exams, as it will continue until the February 13, except on Fridays,” the spokesperson of the Ministry of Communications, Omar Abdel-Razzaq, said.

Abdel-Razzaq explained that the ban times will be from 4 a.m. until 12 p.m., noting that the ban will include the most common social media websites and applications in the Iraqi society, which are Facebook, Telegram, WhatsApp, and Instagram.

Abdel-Razzaq elaborated that this decision was made in response to a request submitted by the Ministry of Education, and after the approval of higher authorities. He added that the Ministry of Communications is only the executing body for the ban process.  

The Iraqi Ministry of Education announced last Sunday the start of the exams of all educational stages for the academic year 2022-2023, where more than 200 thousand students are taking exams.

Many exams were leaked previously through social media in Iraq, which sparked controversy and caused resentment between the Iraqis.

Last year, following the leakage of mathematics and English exams for the intermediate stage, the Ministry of Education was forced to cancel the exams and postpone them for 10 days.

Last week, the Iraqi security announced the arrest of a network specialized in falsifying and altering exam papers in the capital, Baghdad.