India has launched a crackdown on maps showing Kashmir and other disputed territory as part of neighbouring countries Pakistan and China. Web giants Twitter, Facebook and Google's use of maps and location services allotting the territory to its rival nations has lead to new laws imposing fines up to £10m and seven-year jail terms.
Any digital map of India will now need a licence marking approval from the Indian government, under the proposals. “No person shall depict, disseminate, publish or distribute any wrong or false topographic information of India, including international boundaries” the new draft bill says. The most recent controversy arose in February, after Twitter users trying to “geo-locate” their posts in Kashmir were asked to choose only between Pakistan and China. Last year, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg drew criticism for publishing a post that showed a map of India with Kashmir missing. Google had run into trouble in 2007, when web users spotted that Google Earth and Maps services denoted parts of Arunachal Pradesh, a northeastern state, as part of China.
While the draft is aimed at online media, other platforms have also often resorted to display such blunders. News channel Al-Jazeera had received a five-day ban in India for “cartographic aggression” after repeatedly displaying maps showing Kashmir divided between India, Pakistan, and China. Also, The Economist was forced to place stickers over a map of disputed borders in Kashmir in the 28,000 copies on sale in the country in 2011.
