Bita Ghaffari

There is no emergency alert, no text message telling them to evacuate.

So when there is active bombing, families are left hoping that the bombs aren't hitting their neighborhood.

The economic grievances have been unbearable for many families.

About 10 million Iranians depend entirely on the Internet for their work and daily life.

So the toll for many businesses has been devastating.

I've spoken to teachers, designers, vendors and freelancers who make a living online and online.

They've talked about how badly they've been impacted.

Experts estimate that the indirect damage from the shutdown is around $80 million per day, which will add up to billions considering the total number of the days that the internet was down in recent months.

While everyone is offline, there is a so-called whitelist, which applies to a selective group of people who are given access to the internet.

The list includes officials, politicians, some influential public figures, security personnel, and the media.

The journalists are also included.

But critics argue that the objective is broader, and it's not just out of security concerns.

They say the regime is fighting an information war, and therefore it's using a communications blackout to maintain control, to control the content, to push its own narrative, and to intensify surveillance.

The Islamic Republic has a history of shutting down the internet every time there is some sort of unrest or conflict.

The most recent examples are during the 12-day war last year, when Israel launched military strikes against Iran and was briefly joined by the US.

And then in January this year, when mass anti-regime protests gripped the country, Iranians again went offline for 20 days.

So the shutdown isn't a one-off, it's a pattern, and it plays out every time there is upheaval or conflict.

What many Iranian families complain about most is the lack of an early warning system.

There is no emergency alert, no text message telling them to evacuate.

So when there is active bombing, families are left hoping that the bombs aren't hitting their neighborhood.