CITIZEN LAB RESEARCH REPORT NO.151 19 Arash: An Activist from Iran90 Arash’s early childhood memories of Iran are dominated by fear and political repression. In 1990, Arash’s family fled Iran and came to Canada to find a safe home. Despite growing up in Canada, this social and political activist works closely with communities in Iran, advocating for democracy, and he has been the subject of various online threats, such as attempts to compromise his email accounts, online impersonation attempts, and phishing attacks. Arash has also been subject to offline threats. For example, an Iranian pro-regime group reached out to Arash’s employer in Canada to try and get him dismissed from his job. Arash expressed being deeply concerned about the security and privacy of his personal information and his physical safety. Arash is also concerned with the safety of friends and family because the threats affect anyone he is in contact with in Canada or Iran. Arash feels that the situation impacts his mental health. He “constantly worr[ies]” about being digitally targeted and characterizes the experience as “deeply threatening.” Arash explains that “psychologically, it has an impact on you, [you] worry about your employment, worry about your safety, your security, and so on.” Arash is increasingly concerned about his online posts and communications with individuals living in Iran. This concern has led Arash to engage in self-censorship, such as limiting political conversations with family and assuming that anyone who reaches out to him is affiliated with the regime. Arash is also wary about socializing with other Iranians in Canada. In addition to these concerns, Arish worries about the potential of being kidnapped by the Iranian regime and does not feel like he can travel freely. Arash reported some of the threats he faced to the police and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS); however, no action was taken by these bodies. Digital Transnational Repression and the Erosion of Community Networks Participants expressed that digital transnational repression impacted how they socialized and interacted with others, both within Canada and abroad. Participants explained that they restricted digital communications with people in their country of origin, and they avoided socializing with others from the same country of origin. Participants noted that their concern in communicating with people back home was related to the potential harm that those people might suffer if their communications were intercepted by authorities in their country of origin. 90 The participant has been assigned a pseudonym in order to protect their identity.