New Delhi, March 4, 2020: Wired broadband internet services in the Kashmir Valley will be restored in full and access to social media websites will be permitted from March 4 evening, a senior official of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited said.

However, mobile internet services will continue to be restricted, with only low-speed 2G networks operational and high-speed 4G networks still blocked.

An order issued by Shaleen Kabra, Principal Secretary (Home) of the Jammu and Kashmir government, also said unfettered access to social media platforms and other websites on wired broadband lines, and 2G networks was effective only till March 17 unless extended before then.

Restoration of broadband services comes with a rider – the enforcement of Mac Binding, or forcing a computer to work a specified IP address for security reasons.

This news comes seven months after an extensive communications blackout imposed by the federal government following its contentious decision on Article 370 in August last year.

Iltija Mufti, daughter of former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, who is one of three senior opposition leaders detained by the government since August, tweeted after the ban on social media websites was lifted, saying the J&K administration had “finally realized the futility of a ban.”

“Seems like J&K admin finally realized futility of ban on social media since Kashmiris circumvented it through VPNs (virtual private network). Simply became a cat & mouse chase where Kashmiris outwitted state apparatus i.e., Big Brother,” Mufti tweeted.

In January the government had partially restored broadband access for certain institutions in the Valley.

At that time social media websites had been blocked; only access to 1,674 government-approved websites, which included those dealing with “essential services such as e-banking”, had been allowed.

Institutions given access were warned they would be held responsible for any misuse and were urged to take necessary precautions, including the appointment of nodal officers and recording all usage.

Source: ndtv.com