Iran’s government has faced criticism for years from ordinary Iranians, Western governments, the United Nations, and political activists for its draconian attitude toward the internet.

Many people reached by The Associated Press across the capital, Tehran, and other cities said they had access to the services on computers but not yet on mobile phones. WhatsApp has been the third most popular messaging platform in Iran after Instagram and Telegram.

Iranian authorities have lifted a ban on Meta’s instant messaging platform WhatsApp and Google Play as a first step to scale back internet restrictions.

The move has sparked a debate in Iran, with critics of the restrictions arguing the controls were costly for the country

Iran has lifted restrictions on the Google Play app store and WhatsApp, state news agency IRNA reported on Tuesday. The agency said that the applications have been reactivated by the authorities, with more apps expected to follow soon.

The Supreme Cyberspace Council, which is tasked with safeguarding the internet for Iranian citizens, voted unanimously to lift restrictions on a number of foreign-owned applications during a meeting today,