Welcome back to Sparada, where we take just 10 minutes to get you smarter on the collision of tech, business, and politics.

So we're off until the new year, but wanted to share a few of our favorite segments from 2019, and today's is from last month, and it digs into how Iran took its

internet offline.

Iran's internet blackout. So on November 17th, the Iranian government turned off the internet

within the country. No more emails, e-commerce, or cat videos. A few folks managed to

get around it, but according to one estimate from net blocks, internet traffic inside Iran fell

by around 95%. Now, all of this was in response to protests over the government's decision

to raise gas prices there by around 50%, something that had stunned an oil-rich country where cheap gas had

been viewed almost as birthright. The protests were serious business, with buildings burned

and many protesters reportedly killed. But most Iranians were kept intentionally in the dark,

as were many outside of Iran for a while, as journalists struggled to export information.

Some internet restoration began about a day or two ago, but as of last check, many remain

without. Why it matters is that repressive governments have recognized the threat posed

to them by the internet and are taking complicated and costly steps to counter it.

What's happened this month in Iran not only impacts people there, but could become a template

that affects people around the world.

In 15 seconds, we'll go deeper with CIA veteran and Iran expert Norman rule.

But first, this.

Axios chief technology correspondent, Ina Freed, shares breaking news and analysis on the

most consequential

companies and players in tech, from the Valley to D.C.

Subscribe to get smarter faster at signup.axios.com.

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