It is getting more and more frequent for governments to block access to popular social media and VoIP services. In India people in the Kashmir region has recently suffered from blocked access to Twitter, Reddit and Facebook, but lots of people already know how to bypass such blocks.
Last week we wrote an article about how access to VoIP services like WhatsApp, Viber, Facebook Messenger and Skype was blocked in Egypt. We also have an ongoing article that will deal will how Erdogan, the President of Turkey, has blocked access to Wikipedia recently.
The block in India is supposed to stop the common man from using the mentioned social media sites, but the hypocrisy is however, that government officials are still using Facebook in the same region. If they use a VPN to bypass the blocks, or if they are given access from above is not known, but the fact that only certain people are allowed access to Twitter, Reddit and Facebook seems very strange.
So, what can the people of India and the Kashmir region do if they still want to access Twitter, Reddit and Facebook?
It is very easy, and it is using a VPN services. If you want to know more about VPN services and what they are about, read our introduction to VPN connections right here.
If you want to find a VPN provider that you believe to be the right for you, then you can read our full VPN reviews right here.
What is the social media ban in India about?
The government in the Kashmir region has reported that “services were being misused by “anti-government elements” to incite violence.” For that very reason a one month ban of the social media sites were started on April 28th. This is not the first time Internet and social media sites have been banned in Kashmir. It is said that different blocks have been made at least thirty times in the period between 2012 and 2016. It should also be mentioned that in addition to Twitter, Reddit and Facebook, services such as YouTube, Skype, Telegram and Snapchat are also blocked in India.
The current blockade started due to riots and protests on April 9th in Kashmir. Since then there has been lots of noise made on social media, and for that reason the social media ban was introduced on April 28th.
What do you think about it? Should a government be allowed to control the usage of social media in a nation?
