The Indian Army has revised the social media policy for all of its personnel, allowing ‘passive participation’ on a selected group of social media platforms, according to a report by The Hindu.
The Army Headquarters issued these revised social media guidelines through its Directorate General of Military Intelligence (DGMI). For context, Indian Army officers can now use platforms such as X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram for ‘viewing and monitoring content’.
Importantly, this move allows Indian Army soldiers to stay informed online without exposing themselves or their units to any vulnerabilities that can potentially have national security implications.
What Has The Indian Army Mandated For Soldiers On Social Media?
What DOES THE INDIAN ARMY RESTRICT?
Even as Indian Army soldiers can now access Meta-owned Instagram, they are strictly barred from any form of active engagement such as posting, commenting, sharing, reacting, or sending messages on the platform. Notably similar guidelines apply for X (formerly Twitter).
Similarly, the Indian Army has only permitted passive use or access for platforms such as YouTube and Quora, and that too for only gaining knowledge or information. Uploading user-generated content or engaging in any type of active participation on these social media platforms remains prohibited.
The Indian Army’s new social media policy also advises soldiers to avoid visiting generic websites, portals that offer cracked or pirated software, torrent and VPN services, free movie platforms, web proxies, chat rooms and file-sharing platforms, etc. The new policy also cautions that Indian Army officers must use cloud-based data storage platforms with extreme care.
Notably, Meta-owned social media platform Facebook still remains totally out of bounds for Indian Army personnel.
What DOES INDIAN ARMY PERMIT?
Meanwhile, the Indian Army has allowed soldiers to use LinkedIn for professional purposes, such as uploading their resumes or soliciting information about potential employers or employees.
Furthermore, soldiers can still use communication platforms such as WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, and Skype. However, the caveat is that they must only use these platforms to exchange ‘unclassified information of a general nature’.
Additionally, the Indian Army permits such communication with only known individuals, and the responsibility of verifying a message’s recipient lies solely with the user.
Earlier Ban On Social Media Activities Of Indian Army Soldiers
In July 2020, the Indian Army asked its personnel to delete 89 applications from their phones in light of rising tensions with China following the Galwan Valley clash in June 2020.
This directive came as a bid to prevent leakage of sensitive information carrying national security implications from the mobile phones of Indian Army soldiers.
Back then, the Army instructed soldiers to delete dating applications such as Tinder,…
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