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| No policy for regulation of social media | | Rumour mongers have a field day in Kashmir | | Early Times Report
SRINAGAR, May 13: As police is finding it difficult to stop rumour mongering, the government seems in no mood to frame a policy for regulation of social media in Jammu and Kashmir.
The social media is being often misused by rumour mongers in Kashmir. The rumour mongering is always giving a tough challenge for the security agencies to ensure law and order.
At the same time, the government has failed to frame the policy for regulation of social media.
"The security agencies have suggested the government several times that the policy shall be framed to check misuse of social media," a police official said.
Instead, the official said that government was taking some cosmetic measures like blocking the internet. "There has to be a long term solution to misuse of social media. Blocking internet does not make much difference as that is being restored after few days," the official said.
He said they have blocked several Facebook pages and WhatsApp groups where people had posted false information especially inciting violence.
"Now, there are thousands of such pages and groups and we find it difficult to keep a proper surveillance on them. There shall be a policy for regulation of social media news pages," he said.
He said those found involved in cyber-crime of posting false information are to be booked under the IT Act with minimum and maximum punishment of six-months and two-years, respectively.
In 2016, the government made registration of social-media news groups mandatory in Kashmir.
The people in charge were asked to obtain permission from the deputy commissioners for posting news on social media.
Two years down the line, the move appears to have resulted in no positive change.
Consequently, internet clampdown has become the authorities' preferred option to take in situations that encourage rumour mongering.
In 2017, Kashmir witnessed internet blockade at least 60 times-highest in a calendar year thus far.
In 2016, internet was blocked 10 times.
More recently, the residents of north Kashmir's Kupwara district believed a rumour that a student was killed during protests.
Police later clarified that it was "false news intended to cause fear and alarm in general public".
Police lodged an FIR against a resident of Gulab Bagh here after received complaints of him circulating faked news on social media. He was the admin of a Facebook page.
The government has also barred its employees from engaging in political discussions or criticising its policies on the social media.
Issuing a slew of guidelines for use of social media by its employees, the government has cautioned its workforce against updating posts which are "illegal and anti-national". The guidelines also discourage social media use "in a manner that is construed to imply that government endorses personal activities of the users."
Invoking J&K service conduct rules, the government said that any violation of the directives empowers it to dismiss the erring employees from service, pre-maturely retire them, withhold their promotion or salary increments and even demote them to lower positions.
However, there is no implementation on the ground. |
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