Discourse Analysis of the "Supporting Users' Rights and Basic Applied Services in the Cyber Space" Bill

The bill titled "Supporting Users' Rights and Basic User Services in the Cyber Space" proposed in the Islamic Consultative Assembly can be considered one of the most important and contentious legislative proposals and policy documents in the governance and policymaking of the cyber space in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Although this bill, along with its preceding and subsequent versions, has not yet reached a conclusive stage in the Islamic Consultative Assembly, a detailed analysis can provide valuable insights for researchers and stakeholders in this field. The present study aims to examine and understand this bill through discourse analysis and explore the prevailing discourse surrounding it. The research adopts the innovative discourse analysis approach of Laclau and Mouffe, drawing on the Walton and Boon's innovative approach. The results of this study are presented in the form of a discourse map of the "Supporting Users' Rights and Basic User Services in the Cyber Space" bill. On this basis, supporting the people is a floating signifier that the dominant discourse on the plan, as well as the discourse that defines it as a rival, are in discursive conflict over. The empty signifier of people, which is present in the dominant discourse on the plan as moral people, is the axis of connection of the central signifiers of sovereignty and domestic cyberspace, and the central signifiers of security, health, and independence are also placed in relation to the signifier of domestic cyberspace.