Iran restores access to WhatsApp and Google Play after they were banned amid protests

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s government says it has lifted a ban on access to WhatsApp and Google Play after more than two years. That’s according to the official IRNA news agency. The report on Tuesday said the country’s Supreme Council of Cyber Space made the decision in a meeting led by reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian, who has vowed to remove restrictions on social media. The ban on WhatsApp and Google Play was put in place in 2022 during mass protests against the government over the death of a woman held by the country’s morality police for allegedly violating the strictly enforced dress code.