CISCO denies building firewall to restrict internet in J&K: Reports

New Delhi: US based Cisco Systems, has denied Indian media reports that it is helping the government build a firewall to restrict fixed line internet access to restricted websites including social media sites from Jammu and Kashmir once broadband connectivity is restored in the Union Territory, The Hindu reported on Wednesday.

“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,” The Hindu quoted a Cisco spokesperson as saying.

“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,” the spokesperson said, in response to a question on whether Cisco had separate policies for within and outside the United States.

At least two of the media reports were based on information from government sources.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Kashmir Monitor staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)