NO WHATSAPP, FB IN VALLEY FOR A MONTH
The Jammu and Kashmir government has imposed a blanket ban on 22 social media sites including Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp in Kashmir Valley for a month or till further orders.
The state’s home department has issued an order asking the Internet Service Providers to stop transmission of these websites with immediate effect.
Earlier reports had said that the department has issued an order banning internet services in the Valley for a period of one month, but the authorities denied it.
An official statement issued in Jammu said that the social media and other sites have been banned in the Valley “in the interest of maintenance of public order”.
The Jammu and Kashmir government has imposed a blanket ban on 22 social media sites including Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp in Kashmir Valley for a month or till further orders.
An official statement issued in winter capital Jammu said that the order regarding banning of some websites was issued by the government in exercise of powers conferred by sub-section (2) of Section-5 of the Indian Telegraph Act 1885 read with the Indian Telegraph (Amendment) Rules, 2007.
The order directs all ISPs that any message or class of messages to or from any person or class of persons relating to any subject or any pictorial content through the social networking sites Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, QQ, We Chat, Qzone, Tumbir, Google+, Baidu, Skype, Viber, Line, Snapchat, Pinterest, Telegram, Reddit, Snapf ish, YouTube, Vine, Xanga, Buzznet and Flickr shall not be transmitted in the Kashmir Valley, with immediate effect, for a period of one month or till further orders.”
The order signed by the principal secretary to the government states that any violation of the order shall be dealt with in accordance with the relevant provisions of law.
It claims that as per available inputs, over a period of time, a progressively increasing trend has been witnessed with regard to misuse of social media, like Facebook and Twitter “by the elements inimical to public order and tranquility, thereby impinging on public safety, particularly in the Kashmir Valley”.