Indian Army’s ban on Facebook, other apps successful: Report

The ban imposed by the Indian Army on the usage of 89 smartphone applications, including social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, since June last year, has been highly successful. Of the 1.3 million strong Indian Army, only eight personnel were found to have violated the ban.

According to some media reports, at least 730 Army officers have been authorised to enforce the ban which came into effect last year, on July 15. The apps included 59 Chinese apps banned by the government for general public. But strikingly, the Army also banned the usage of common apps like WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, Ella, Snapchat, PubG, Messenger, TrueCaller, anti-virus 360 Security, Tinder, Tumbler, Reditt, Hungama, Songs.pk, Cam Scanner, Ok Cupid, Daily Hunt, and others. Most of the applications are American and Chinese.

Following the violence face-off between India and China along the Line of Actual Control in Eastern Ladakh last year, the Army imposed the ban to prevent cyber attacks, illegal accumulation of digital data and leakage of sensitive information. In last few years, several cases of Army personnel were discovered where they were honey-trapped on Facebook resulting in leakage of sensitive information related to the Indian military and the government.

Though the Army had been issuing several directives on the use of Facebook for personal life and WhatsApp for official work, but only in June last year, it made stringent rules for the violations.

The ban has been enforced by seeking undertakings from each soldier and officer across the country, that they have deleted their accounts and they have not installed any of the applications on their phones.