Censorship – News Media / Documentaries

The verified Facebook and Instagram pages of Kashmir Life became inaccessible in India on Monday afternoon after Meta restricted access at the request of law enforcement authorities.Kashmir culture coverage

Reports of the page’s inaccessibility began reaching the newsroom around 4:30 pm, when readers from across the country said they were unable to view the publication’s Facebook page. There had been no prior public notice or communication before access was blocked.

Subsequently, Meta put an auto response to the page suggesting that it had restricted access to the content in India “pursuant to a notice from ‘The Government of India V Law Enforcement’ under Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act, 2000.” The communication advised the organisation to contact the issuing authority for further information and stated that details regarding content restrictions based on local law are available through Meta’s Transparency Centre.

Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act, 2000, empowers authorities to require intermediaries to disable access to content upon receiving actual knowledge through a court order or government notification.

On Instagram, where Kashmir Life also maintains a presence, a notice displayed on the platform reads: “We received a legal request to restrict this content. We reviewed it against our policies and conducted a legal and human rights assessment. After the review, we restricted access to the content in the location where it goes against local law.”