Since September 2014, the IRGC intensified its review of Facebook pages, and that 350 Facebook pages managed by 36 individuals had been identified and 130 of them deleted from Facebook.[3]
In January 2015, 12 Iranian Facebook users were arrested and 24 other citizens were summoned to answer questions about their Facebook activities.[4]
On January 31, a statement by the Center for Investigation of Organized Cyber Crimes was published that stated several Facebook users had been arrested in a surveillance project by the IRGC named "Operation Spider" that is aimed at identifying and rooting out Facebook pages and activities that spread "corruption" and western-inspired lifestyles. The statement also says they "received indirect and covert support from the Western governments and had targeted a remarkable number of Facebook users in the guise of cultural and social pages over a span of two years".[5]
