Internet Blackout in Iran and Local Alternatives

For over 400 hours, Iran has been facing a severe internet blackout due to internal protests. Access to the network is heavily restricted, with only a few websites, including Google, ChatGPT, and Deepseek, being accessible.

The situation also makes it difficult to use VPNs to circumvent censorship. Some users are resorting to illegal Starlink connections to share access.

Local Language Models as a Solution

In this context, local language models (LLMs) such as Gemma3 12B and Qwen3 8B, running on local hardware, represent a valuable resource. These models offer access to uncensored information, even though ChatGPT proves uncooperative in helping to circumvent censorship.

The ability to use LLMs locally, without relying on an internet connection, offers an alternative to access information and develop solutions in situations of severe network restriction.