22 social media sites banned in J&K for one month

The Jammu and Kashmir government has suspended 22 social media sites, including Facebook and WhatApp, for a month as protests refused to die down in the state.

The order came amid an existing ban on 3G and 4G mobile services. The services were suspended on April 17. Broadband was also reduced to 2G speed.

“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 government said in the order.

Social networking sites that have been suspended include QQ, WeChat, Ozone, Tumblr, Google+, Baidu, Skype, Viber, Line, Snapchat, Pinterest, Telegram, Reddit, Snapfish, YouTube (Upload), Xanga, and Flickr.

The government said the step was being taken because “It has been felt that continued misuse of social networking sites and instant messaging services is likely to be detrimental to the interest of peace and tranquillity of the state”