by Judith Alison Lee, Adam M. Smith, Stephenie Gosnell Handler, Audi Syarief, and Samantha Sewall.

On September 23, 2022, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) issued General License D-2 (“GL D-2”), expanding a prior authorization to further facilitate the free flow of information over the internet to, from, and among residents of Iran. GL D-2 authorizes the exportation to Iran of certain services, software, and hardware incident to the exchange of internet-based communications. GL D-2 supersedes and replaces an existing license, General License D-1 (“GL D-1”), that had been in place without update for over eight years. According to the Treasury Department, the updated license is designed to bring the scope of the license in line with modern technology and ultimately to expand internet access for Iranians, providing them with “more options of secure, outside platforms and services.” As noted below, even though GL D-2 certainly expands upon the types of software and services allowed to be exported, one of its principal effects will likely be the enhanced comfort parties may have in providing such technology to Iran. GL D-1 was often not fully leveraged by the exporting community that was concerned about the extent of coverage. GL D-2 is an evident attempt to right this balance, making sure that exporters remain aware of limitations while also providing more certainty to those who wish to leverage the exemption. Continue reading →