Israeli military plans new restrictions for soldiers using social media

JERUSALEM – Some Israeli soldiers will soon be unfriending Facebook following a new crackdown on social media use.

The military said Thursday it will soon issue new restrictions on the use of Facebook and other social media sites. A draft of the plan bars soldiers in classified units from posting pictures of themselves on base or in uniform. Members of the most secretive units will not be allowed to have social media accounts at all.

The move comes days after a group of female Israeli soldiers earned worldwide attention when racy pictures of them wearing only underwear and combat gear surfaced on Facebook.

The Israeli military says the new restrictions were created for security reasons and are not connected to the incident.