Iranian state media said Tuesday that Iranian authorities had removed a ban on Google Play and Meta’s instant messaging app WhatsApp as a first step towards easing internet restrictions.
TakeAway Points:
- 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, according to Iranian state media.
- China’s WuXi AppTec said its subsidiaries have signed a deal with U.S.-based private equity firm Altaris LLC for the sale of its cell and gene therapy manufacturing unit, WuXi Advanced Therapies, for an undisclosed sum.
- The social networking company X, which is owned by Elon Musk, increased the cost of its premium-plus plan in a number of locations starting on December 21 in an effort to increase compensation for producers on its network.
Iran removes restrictions on WhatsApp and Google Play
“A positive majority vote has been reached to lift limitations on access to some popular foreign platforms such as WhatsApp and Google Play,” Iran’s official IRNA news agency said on Tuesday, referring to a meeting on the matter headed by President Masoud Pezeshkian.
The Islamic Republic has some of the strictest controls on Internet access in the world, but its blocks on U.S.-based social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube are routinely bypassed by tech-savvy Iranians using virtual private networks.
“Today the first step in removing internet limitations… has been taken,” IRNA cited Iran’s Minister of Information and Communications Technology Sattar Hashemi as saying.
Social media platforms were widely used in anti-government protests in Iran.
In September, the United States called on Big Tech to help evade online censorship in countries that heavily sensor the internet, including Iran.
China’s WuXi to sell Advanced Therapies unit amid US restrictions
WuXi AppTec, a Chinese company, announced on Tuesday that its subsidiaries have reached an agreement with Altaris LLC, a U.S.-based private equity firm, to sell WuXi Advanced Therapies, its cell and gene therapy manufacturing division, for an undisclosed amount.
The company, along with other Chinese firms, have been at the center of new U.S. laws aimed at restricting their businesses in the United States due to national security concerns.
The U.S. House of Representatives had passed a bill in September that would prohibit federal contracts with targeted firms and those that do business with them.
The bills are designed to keep Americans’ personal health and genetic information from foreign adversaries and aim to push U.S. pharmaceutical and biotech companies to lessen their reliance on China for everything from drug ingredient manufacturing to early research.
WuXi said it would also sell Oxford Genetics, the UK-based operating entity of the WuXi ATU business, to Altaris LLC.
Elon Musk’s X lifts price for premium-plus tier to pay creators
Elon Musk-owned X raised the price of its premium-plus plan in several markets from Dec. 21 as the social media company looks to boost payment for creators on its platform.
The top-tier plan is now priced at $22 a month in the U.S., up from $16 earlier, according to a blog post. Prices for the basic tier and premium subscriptions remain unchanged at $3 and $8, respectively.
X changed its revenue-sharing practices in October to ensure subscription fees would more directly contribute to creator payouts and that they are compensated on content quality and engagement rather than ad views alone.
The updated pricing applies to new subscribers, while existing members will retain their current rates until Jan. 20.
X offers premium-plus subscribers ad-free browsing and features such as expanded access to the Grok AI chatbot and Radar, which offers real-time analytics on emerging trends through keyword tracking.
Subscriptions are a key part of Musk’s strategy to drive revenue growth at X, the platform that was known as Twitter before the billionaire purchased it and had long relied on advertising dollars.
