J&K govt bans Facebook, WhatsApp and others social media platforms in the valley

The Jammu and Kashmir government has suspended all social networking sites including Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp for one month in the wake of widespread students' unrest in the valley.

The government order, released on Wednesday, said that anti-social elements were "misusing" social media platforms to spread hatred among the public against the state government and security forces, following which the government has decided to put a blanket ban on social networking platforms including Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, YouTube uploads, Flickr, WeChat, Qzone, Tumblr, Google+, Baidu, Skype, Viber, Line, Snapchat, Pinterest and Telegram among others.

“Any message or class of messages to or from any persons or class of persons relating to any subject or any pictorial content through the following social networking sites shall not be transmitted in the Kashmir valley, with immediate effect, for a period of one month or till further orders, whichever is earlier,” the order stated.

The Kashmir Valley has been on the boil since last month with protesters and security forces clashing across the valley. The government said the authorities had also blocked over 300 WhatsApp groups that had been spreading rumours to stoke passions among the youth during the volatile situation in Kashmir.