Navy bans use of social media, smartphones for personnel

NEWDELHI:A new directive issued by the Indian Navy on Friday has banned the use of social media and smartphones for all its personnel.

The move has come after seven sailors in Vishakapatnam were arrested for allegedly passing on information to Pakistan, through a spying racket which had agents posing as women on social media.

The case was cracked this month by the Andhra Pradesh police that found a ‘hawala’ operator managing the operation with the help of Navy personnel posted in Mumbai, Karwar and Vizag.

The order first reported by the Stratpost website says, “Recent case of inimical elements targeting naval personnel over social media to elicit sensitive/operational information is a matter of serious concern necessitating stringent correctives.”

Listing out what will now be treated as contraband in the Navy, it says that Facebook will be banned and there will be no more smart phones on naval bases or dockyards and even ships. All staffers from the Chief and below will have to all delete their Facebook accounts.

The Navy spokesperson were unavailable for comment on the matter.

However, with the widespread use of social media sites, the order has proved to be quite a source of concern for many. The order says that they are also considering further ban on messaging apps, blogging, content sharing, and even e-commerce sites which means that online shopping will also be prohibited.

Explaining the move, Captain (retd) DK Sharma, a former spokesperson of the force said, “As they say, loose lips sink ships. You have to be absolutely discreet and this has to be drilled

AS PER THE DIRECTIVE, ALL STAFFERS FROM THE CHIEF AND BELOW WILL HAVE TO ALL DELETE THEIR FACEBOOK ACCOUNTS

into the minds of one and all.”

So far, the Navy and other forces only had an advisory on discreet use of social media, which meant that they were not allowed to upload any photos of themselves in uniform or share any work details. There is not restriction on family members of the personnel using social media yet.

A former officer said that they could expect lockers outside official rooms to deposit all phones and even someone deleting all user profiles. “There were honey trap cases earlier as well,” he said, adding that he was unsure how effective the ban will be.

“A ban on use of social media may be introduced as a precautionary measure but the efficacy is debatable. Use through proxies or fictitious handles would have to be addressed. Procedures may have to be fine tuned as we go along since the use of social media is proliferating across multiple platforms,” Commodore Uday Bhaskar said.

The Navy’s own Facebook page, however, will continue to operate to showcase the work to all.