Iran Targets Google, Meta, Amazon & Microsoft: Plans to Charge Fees for Undersea Internet Cables in Strait of Hormuz

Iran Targets Google, Meta, Amazon & Microsoft: Plans to Charge Fees for Undersea Internet Cables in Strait of Hormuz

Iranian state-linked media have proposed that Iran charge Google, Meta, Amazon and Microsoft fees for undersea internet cables passing through the Strait of Hormuz. The plans include licensing charges, requirements for the firms to operate under Iranian law and exclusive Iranian control over cable repairs and maintenance. They have emerged amid regional tensions and peace talks following the recent conflict in which Iran restricted shipping thro…

Can Iran Control Internet Cables in the Gulf?

We’ve previously discussed the vulnerabilities of global internet infrastructure, but today we’ll focus on subsea data cables in the Persian Gulf.Global data traffic depends on undersea cables that carry massive amounts of information between continents. Iran has now decided it wants the ability to control and charge for data traffic moving through the region (mirroring its stance on shipping through the Strait). Many Gulf countries built separa…