If they want internet access, Kashmiri businesses will have to let security forces check every website they access. Companies in Kashmir can finally restore their internet connections, which have been suspended for four months. But it will come at a cost. They’ll have to give the government a signed bond saying that internet usage will be restricted to “business purposes.” They must also promise to share all “contents” and “infrastructure” that they watch or use on the internet when asked by “security agencies.” The bond consists of six points, including that no encrypted file containing any sort of videos or photos will be uploaded. Other points state that “for the allowed IP, there will be no social networking, proxies, VPNs and Wi-Fi” and “that all the USB ports will be disabled on the network.” Government officials say companies will be held responsible “for any kind of breach and misuse of internet.” It’s the latest chapter in Kashmir’s struggle for that most basic of 21st-century commodities: the internet. |