The US-based Cisco Systems has denied helping the J&K government in building a social media firewall for subscribers of the newly created union territory, in what seems to be an attempt at damage control.
The leading technology giant that has already faced criticism for helping the “repressive” Chinese regime in building a firewall “to purify the internet” is under fresh onslaught from freedom of speech activists for enabling a government in cracking down on human rights.
“Cisco denies reports from India regarding Cisco involvement in restricting access to social media websites. Cisco strongly supports free expression and open communication on the Internet, and our policies and practices are well-established in this area,” a company spokesperson said.
“We build our products to comply with global standards and sell our products globally. We do not customize our products in any way to enable censorship,” he said, according to reports.
Brighter Kashmir had reported along with other news outlets that the technology giant was working with Jammu and Kashmir government to prevent internet users there from accessing social media websites.
Following the reports, the US-based company was called out for enabling a government-sponsored crack down on the guaranteed fundamental rights of freedom of speech and expression.
The company’s denial only seems to be an attempt at damage control.
“Cisco has been criticized in the past for enabling censorship and surveillance in authoritarian regimes. A 2008 Wired report showed the company had a 90-page internet document detailing how it could help the Chinese government build the “Golden Shield,” also known as the Great Firewall of China, a version of the internet heavily censored by Chinese authorities,” a report said.
China’s new weapon of surveillance is a “modern marvel”, according to a Wired report.
“The Golden Shield took eight years and $700 million to build, and its mission is to "purify" the Internet — an apparently urgent task,” the reports said.
"Whether we can cope with the Internet is a matter that affects the development of socialist culture, the security of information, and the stability of the state," Chinese President Hu Jintao said in January.
“The Golden Shield — the latest addition to what is widely referred to as the Great Firewall of China — was supposed to monitor, filter, and block sensitive online content.
“But only a year after completion, it already looks doomed to fail. True, surveillance remains widespread, and outspoken dissidents are punished harshly. But my experience as a correspondent in China for seven years suggests that the country's stranglehold on the communications of its citizens is slipping,” the Wired report said.