Internet Butcher

Pouya
Pirhosseinlou

Pouya Pirhosseinlou, one of the co-founders of ArvanCloud, is known for his involvement in developing the technical infrastructure used in internet suppression in Iran. ArvanCloud, providing cloud services, CDN, DNS, and content hosting, became a key player in Iran's internet ecosystem but has faced significant criticism for cooperating with government and security agencies to enforce filtering, control traffic, and restrict user access to information.

Previously active in media and digital fields, Pirhosseinlou helped lead and manage ArvanCloud in developing tools that later served as the technical backbone for projects like the National Information Network, which isolates the domestic internet from the global web. These platforms enabled monitoring, tracking, and censorship capabilities for state bodies.

Although Pirhosseinlou later claimed to be unaware of some decisions and policies or resisted them, his managerial role in shaping and expanding infrastructure directly used in digital repression cannot be denied.

As a result, Pouya Pirhosseinlou is considered one of the figures involved in developing censorship and surveillance tools that contributed to internet suppression in Iran.