India Bans Army From Using Social Networks

Sites include Facebook.com . Published on February 6th, 2012. Written by Anthony West.

The contemporary soldier has to operate in a very sophisticated setting, using some of the latest technology, but many armies around the world are quite selective about which bits of technology they allow their soldiers to use.

One case in point is the Indian Army which has taken the rather broad and somewhat harsh approach of banning entirely, the use of social media and social networks by its soldiers. The reason given for the wholesale ban is the typical “security safeguards” excuse, and many in the blogosphere are simply not convinced by it. Although there hasn’t been an official confirmation from the Army, sources close to the situation say that the ban is effectively immediately and will affect the 36,000 officers and 1.3 million regular soldiers that currently make up India’s armed forces.

The ban means that once you a soldier is enlisted in the Indian Army, he or she is not permitted to even have a Facebook, Twitter or any other social networking account. Recruits joining up who already have such accounts have been instructed to delete their profiles are risk not being admitted into the Army.

Whether this wholesale ban will work or even be effective remains to be seen. The fact is that access to technology is part and parcel of living and working in a technologically advanced world. Any attempt to police that too much won’t be very practical on any level.

Stroke of genius or absolute lunacy? Let us know what you think about the ban below.