Several district administrations in Kashmir have stopped the use of VPNs for security reasons. Over the past 24 hours, Shopian, Kulgam, Budgam, and Srinagar issued separate orders banning VPNs, which hide users' locations online. Budgam's latest order, issued Tuesday, suspends all VPN services on mobile phones for two months. The order cited Section 163 of the Bhartiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, after police flagged "unprecedented and suspicious high usage of VPNs." It said, "Such usage has the potential to be exploited for unlawful and anti-national activities, including incitement of unrest, dissemination of inflammatory material, and coordination of activities prejudicial to the maintenance of public order." The order added that VPNs "enable encrypted data transmission, mask IP addresses, bypass firewalls and website restrictions, and may expose sensitive information to potential cyber threats." Considering these risks and the need to protect public security, the District Magistrate decided to impose the ban. Similar VPN bans have been in place in districts of the Pir Panchal Valley and Chenab Valley in Jammu, following reports of increased militant activity. The move aims to prevent misuse of VPN technology amid ongoing security concerns in the region.