As the tension in Kashmir rises, the Indian government has responded by imposing a 1-month ban on 22 social media websites (including Facebook, Twitter and What’sapp) after several videos of police brutality against Kashmiri protesters went viral on social media websites. The ban also includes applications and websites, such as: Wechat, QQ,Qzone, Google Plus, Skype, Line, Pinterest, Snapchat, YouTube, Vine and Flickr.
As a response to criticism, the Indian government said on Wednesday (April 26, 2017) that the social media ban in Kashmir is because “social media is being misused by anti-national and antisocial elements.” The government went on and said that the ban is “in the interest of maintenance of public order,” since social media websites have been inciting violence and spreading rumours in Kashmir.
This is the official statement: “The government hereby directs all internet service providers that any message … through the following social networking sites shall not be transmitted in Kashmir Valley with immediate effect for a period of one month or till further orders, which ever is earlier,”
This decision has stirred negative criticism from freedom rights and privacy advocates. Yasir Zargar, a Kashmir-based web security analyst said, “This ban is violation of the right to expression and free speech, and instead of addressing the escalating situation they are imposing this useless ban [...] Instead of addressing the issue, the government is imposing this useless social media ban, in absence of social media and internet there will be no means of verifying rumors either which can prove more dangerous.”
On the other hand, this ban does not only gag freedom of speech and internet rights, but it also negatively impacts businessmen in Kashmir who depend on social media websites as well as applications to run their businesses.
Muheet Mehraj, Founder of KashmirBox.com said, “Seventy percent of our revenue is generated through social media, this ban will prove to be disastrous for startups in the valley [...] Because of such internet bans many companies are forced to relocate their offices outside Kashmir.”
How to unblock Social Media Websites & Apps in Kashmir
Despite the social media ban in Kashmir, an enormous number of Kashmiri netizens have been able to access banned websites and use banned apps through VPN services. VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) operate by masking a user’s original IP address which indicates geographical locations (e.g: Kashmir) and replacing it with a fake IP from another country that is not geo-restricted from accessing social media websites (e.g: Facebook). This means that a VPN user from Kashmir would appear as if he/she is browsing from a different location, such as: USA. VPNs also protect and secure personal information as well any online activity that can be tracked by ISPs and third parties. Click here for the best VPN services in 2017 for India & Kashmir.
