*SRINAGAR – The Indian Army in occupied-Kashmir has been checking themobile phones of people there for Virtual Private Networks (VPN) andthrashing them if they find one using it.*
VPN allow users to mask their location and browse the internet moresecurely. Since the Indian government imposed a curfew in the valley andallowed access to only 329 whitelisted websites, there has been a surge ininterest in the VPN applications as people turned to the applications toget around the restrictions.
However, the Indian army keeps a stern check on the phones, especially onthe youth’s. This has led to the youth to keep their phones ‘clean’, *scroll.inlink* reported. A teenager from Kashmir’s Kulgam district hassaid he does not carry his smartphone when he goes out and instead carriesa simpler one. “It’s just to avoid the attention of the army.
They stop people and check their phones. I heard many were beaten up by thearmy when they found VPN apps installed in their phones,” theseventeen-year-old said.
Another has also affirmed that army personnel check mobilephones for theapplications. Sanam Aijaz, a television journalist said that he was alsostopped by army personnel who got furious when Aijaz told him he was usingVPN app. “When I told him I am using one, he got furious. He abused me andtold me – you are using this VPN to spread terrorism. I told him it’s aVPN, not an AK 47,” he said.
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Not only is the army checking for VPNs on phones, but private internetservice providers have been asking organisations and companies who havebeen allowed access to broadband, for a written undertaking. The providersask for a written undertaking that the users will not use internetconnections to access social networks, proxies or VPN applications.
While one internet provider denies that they have been asked by theauthorities for these undertaking, another official from a private internetservice provider in Srinagar has revealed that a copy of the undertakinghas to be submitted to the government.