Iran plans to enter talks with Meta and X, the country’s communications minister Sattar Hashemi said, in what seems to be a bid to shift responsibility for filtering from the state to the platforms.

In August, the head of Iran’s Cyber Police said lifting restrictions on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, X, Telegram, and WhatsApp would require these companies to establish official representation in Iran, effectively forcing them to comply with state censorship rules.

For over two decades, Iran has implemented widespread censorship, blocking thousands of websites and restricting access to major social media platforms.