In a continuation of a crackdown against indigenous voices, Facebook and Twitter have taken down prominent voices for the Kashmir valley.
The Twitter handle of Stand with Kashmir was suspended by Twitter from its platform for the second time in less than two months. Stand with Kashmir is an amalgam of Kashmiris in the diaspora. The globally renowned group is highlighting the Human Rights violations taking place across the Kashmir valley.
In 2019, Facebook also removed a post from the Facebook page of The Kashmiriyat providing a detailed list of Militant killings till November 2018, Facebook said that the post does not follow the community standards set by the Social Media platform, the post however was restored after a span of eight hours.
The Twitter handles of various pro resistance groups throughout India have been suspended by Twitter which includes journalists and Rights activists.
Accounts of another diaspora group, Kashmir Civitas has also been suspended by Twitter. The admins of the page say that they were not notified of any content that violated the Twitter policy.
Fizala Khan, a Journalist working with The Kashmiriyat said that her Twitter handle was suspended without any reason cited for the same. “I do not understand why my Twitter handle was suspended, not just one but i made another handle and that too was suspended within two hours,” she said.
In 2018, Helene Beatrix, an Online Swedish Activist who had gained prominence for supporting a resolution for the Kashmir issue was barred in India on 24 October, her Twitter account had 30,000 followers, “On Saturday, I was informed that my Twitter handle was invisible in India post which i was notified that i had been blocked for sharing ‘objectionable content’,” she told The Kashmiriyat.
“Truth is not popular in India. Nor for @Twitter who obey states & by that help them to commit war crimes, This is outrageous and it is censorship that threatens fundamental rights and it also gives carte Blanche to India, who can continue their crimes in peace and quiet,” She said.
Various Journalists, pro-Kashmir activists had been receiving threats online from right-wing workers.
Similarly, the Social Media Ogre in 2018, took down the page Lost Kashmir History.’ The owner of the page in his personal account wrote that ‘around 6:30 PM IST, he received a few texts informing him that their Facebook page has been banned in India and Kashmir.
On 21 October, Facebook took down a video from the page of The Kashmiriyat that was the first visual available from the site of an encounter where six civilians were killed in an explosion in South Kashmir. Facebook removed the video immediately after it reached more than 40,000 people within 10 minutes of being posted, the video was circulated by 800 Facebook users in these 10 minutes.
Youtube also blocked the channel of The Kashmiriyat after sharing a video from the funeral of two slain associates of Zakir Musa on March 16 this year.
Facebook has taken down accounts of hundreds of users from Kashmir in the recent past.
Since the 2010 Summer Uprising, pro-resistance activists and many others were booked under charges by the Government for sharing content on Facebook and other Social Media networking websites, Shakeel Bakshi, Qazi Ahmed Yasir, two prominent pro-freedom activist were booked under Public Safety Act in 2010 and one of the charges among many was sharing ‘objectionable content’ on Facebook.
In the Past Facebook has barred accounts for sharing the photos of a local militant commander Burhan Wani, in fact, hundreds of accounts were barred in Kashmir. Academics, journalists, writers, and the pages of Online portals are among those who have had photos, videos, and entire accounts deleted by Facebook after they shared about recent events in Kashmir.
Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, an Irish academic lawyer specializing in human rights law wrote to Facebook chief executive Mr. Zuckerberg saying Facebook wrongly treats all non-state groups that use violence in pursuit of any goals as terrorist entities.
She also accused Facebook of helping governments to crack down on dissent with its definition of “terrorism.”