Social media ban: How do we express ourselves, ask Kashmiris

NEW DELHI: In January last year, the Supreme Court pulled up the Centre over allegations of prosecutions even after the apex court had scrapped the section in 2015 under which a person could be arrested for posting offensive content on websites, especially social media.


But despite this, the Jammu and Kashmir police on February 17 invoked Section 66 A of the IT Act (later withdrawn) and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act to register an FIR against unknown people for “misuse” of social media. The FIR comes after the government recently restored limited access to

2G services

and 1,674 white-listed websites, except social media.

The "misuse" of social media pertains to the usage of the

virtual private network

by the locals to circumvent the ban imposed by the local administration on the

internet

, including social media. The communication ban, longest in the history of any democracy, came into existence on August 5 following the abrogation of Article 370.

Using social media not allowed

To bypass the social media ban, Kashmiris have been using virtual private networks (VPNs) to access blacklisted sites, particularly social media. Through VPNs, users can route the data connection of a smartphone or a laptop through a private server instead of the local internet service provider's network. That allows the user to access sites that are locally blocked.

In its statement, the J&K police said, "The FIR has been registered while taking cognizance of the social media posts by the miscreants by use of different VPNs, which are propagating rumours with regards to the current security scenario in the Kashmir valley, propagating secessionist ideology and glorifying terror acts/ terrorists."

Raising concerns over the move, digital rights activists across the country have questioned the "arbitrary" FIR, saying the move is “illegal.” However, the J&K police have already arrested three people, including separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani’s cook, his help and another person from Kupwara for “misuse” of VPN and social media, saying anybody who is found violating the rules will be booked.

But who exactly falls under the category of “misusing” the internet? In the vast world of the internet, social media and freedom of expression, where exactly is the line drawn? And how many can the police arrest?

Police call the move 'necessary'

Calling it a “necessary” measure, Tahir Ashraf, SP and in-charge Cyber Police Kashmir, said that the government has directed all telecom companies to block social media sites to prevent its misuse, be it on mobile phones or through broadband.

Asked how the police are going to identify such users which can be a daunting task, he said, “Keeping the situation in view, the subject of our investigation is a social media profile spreading fake information, rumours to create panic and chaos, who glorify terrorists or propagate their ideology. Our dedicated teams are alert 24X7 to deal with this situation. They identify users who can be a threat to national security.”

Making it clear that the police are ready to contain the "misuse" of social media, Ashraf added it was necessary for users to draw a line. “They have to be aware of the law and of their acts, which if negative, can create law and order problems."

FIR for using social media in the age of internet freedom

The Supreme Court of India has recognized the right to information as a constitutionally protected fundamental right, established under Article 19 (right to freedom of speech and expression) and Article 21 (right to life) of the Constitution. So what happens to the rights of Kashmiris? Though Kashmir is no stranger to internet suspension, this time it has been harsher as it was a complete blackout for 6 months, including the broadband services. Kashmir has lost some Rs 1.78 lakh crore in economic output in the five months since August 2019, according to The Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Thousands of people have lost their jobs during the last six months. According to a report in the US daily The Washington Post, the internet blackout in J&K has been the longest ever to occur in a democracy.

Booking people 'illegal'

While the J&K police are pulling all the stops to ensure Kashmiris remain away from social media, digital rights activists have called the FIR “authoritarian”.

“Filing FIRs for the use of VPNs is illegal. Prosecution under 66A is unconstitutional. Right now I am talking to lawyers on how to extend help. Actions will be taken only with care based on actual needs of local users, factual inputs and legal merits,” tweeted Internet Freedom Foundation executive director Apar Gupta on February 17.

Digital rights activist Nikhil Pahwa said, "The police's argument about VPNs is unfounded because accessing the internet cannot be an illegal activity just because the government has blocked or shut down internet access. Services were suspended but if someone found a way around it, they were within their rights to do so," he said, adding that VPNs are used to protect users from "surveillance mechanisms" and restricting their use would infringe upon people's rights to privacy and free speech.

So while the police invoked not only Section 66 which stands invalid and since then has been withdrawn, it also invoked the UAPA in the FIR among other charges. Under the UAPA, a person can be booked and jailed for months without bail and a person can be declared a “terrorist”.

Activists from across the country have been crying foul and urging the government to repeal the UAPA as it is being misused.

Saying that invoking UAPA against social media users is “illegal”, lawyer Gautam Bhatia wrote on Twitter, “Absolutely illegal from the J&K govt. The UAPA cannot be invoked against people for the crime of using VPNs and accessing social media. At best, it's a circumvention of a Telecom Suspension Order, for which… there is no prescribed penalty.”

Youngsters defying the ban

According to the police, most of the social media users bypassing the ban in the Valley are youth, who find ways to counter the firewalls and access Twitter, Facebook or Instagram through VPN. But how easy is that? 23-year-old Ahmed (name changed) is more than excited to finally be able to access Facebook and Twitter after six months and chat with his friends living outside Kashmir. Talking to TOI, Ahmed said, “Living without internet and phones for almost 5-6 months was like living without air or water. We did not even have phones for a long time, contacting friends or knowing about the outside world was almost impossible. And when 2G services were restored, it finally felt that we could also access the net normally. But what is the point if we can't access social media? The Internet means nothing if we cannot access what we want to as per our choice.”

Another user, who didn’t want to be identified, said that the government was stifling freedom of expression in every way. “We were caged for months and now when we have limited access to the internet, we are threatened with arrests. We are not allowed to come out on roads to protest peacefully and now we can’t post our views even online. Where are we supposed to express ourselves then? How will our stories go out?” she added.

It is not only the youngsters who are upset with the ban but the elderly also feel the internet has restricted their interactions and information flow. Nazir Ahmed Bhat (name changed), whose brother lives in the US, said that it is a struggle for them to connect with their loved ones outside Kashmir. “With the internet, everything was on our fingertips. We could interact with our brother, his kids who live in the US on a daily basis. Now, even a smooth call on the phone is a big deal while seeing them on the internet is still far fetched as speed is a limitation.”

Kashmir post Article 370 abrogation

On August 5, 2019, Article 370 was abrogated in Jammu and Kashmir which gave a special status to the erstwhile state which has since then divided into two Union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. All the modes of communication were snapped leaving the whole region cut-off from the rest of India. More than 600 companies (60,000) additional central armed police force personnel were deployed in Jammu and Kashmir in the wake of the emerging situation.

For almost two months, Kashmiris had no access to any mode of communication and there were stringent restrictions on the movement of people. Section 144 was in place in most of the areas of Kashmir which prohibits the gathering of more than 4 people in one place. Protests, if any, were dealt with a heavy force. Most of the politicians and separatist leaders were detained. Hundreds of men were arrested and sent to different jails in different parts of the country.

'Pushed to the edge'

At a time when information and technology have become a backbone of societies, Kashmiris feel the valley is back to stone-age; at a time when 5G is just on the anvil, people in Kashmir have been given limited access to 2G services, without social media, news websites and they have to follow rules of what to do and what not. If the last six months are anything to go by, people in Kashmir feel that they still remain "unheard" and "invisible" while being pushed to the “edge”. But the question most Kashmiris, young and old, seem to ask is: How long will this continue?