The Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir suddenly switched off 22 social media and instant messaging for people living in the conflict-ridden Kashmir Valley for a month. The services that are blocked include Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, Telegram, Pinterest, Snapchat, Reddit and others that many locals rely on their day-to-day communication.
Kashmir is a violence ridden state in northern India where both India and Pakistan claim as their own territory. It has been plague by clashes and violence throughout decades between local residents and Indian army. Both India and Pakistan have gone to war over the dispute territory since they were partitioned in 1947.
The government has at least blocked internet in the region for 31 time since the past five years. In 2016, the region has experienced internet shut down more than any country in the world, affecting more than 12.5 million people.
According to the government order, these services were "being misused by anti-national and anti-social elements" in the Valley to disturb "peace and tranquility."
Recently, internet has also been blocked after the death of Burhan Wani, a well-known separatist leader in 2016. When people from Kashmir reportedly broadcast violence by the Indian army on Facebook Live. the state government quickly turned internet services off in the Valley.
Since India's Supreme Court ruled in February 2016 that districts and states can turn off mobile web services temporarily to prevent law and order problems in the country, the Kashmir government has turned off 3G and 4G access for a day after hundreds of student protesters threw rocks at the police and chanted anti-India slogans.
Frequent internet shutdown in the region has hurt Kashmir's online industry. Since many small entrepreneurs in the region don't have marketing budgets to advertise on the internet, they depend on social media to reach their customers. Platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter are 90 percent of their lives.
According to Brookings Institution, the frequent internet shut down in Kashmir can cost states and citizens more than $1 billion each year .