Court again calls IT minister in YouTube ban case on 7th
LAHORE: As Information Technology Minister and secretary did not appear before the Lahore High Court on Friday, the court again sought their appearance in person on August 07 in petition challenging ban on access to YouTube in Pakistan.
An additional secretary appeared before the court and said the minister is busy in preparation of IT policy. A deputy attorney general submitted before the court that the secretary could not appear before the court due to eye infection. He submitted that due to security concerns the government is not allowing access to the website.
At this, the judge remarked that access to the Internet cannot be denied and it is up to the nations to make decisions at such points.
The court in its previous order had remarked that it is important to understand the nature of the problem. In today’s digital age, information over the Internet cannot be blocked but can be intelligently regulated. He said the responsibility and the choice is of the individual to watch or not to watch a controversial website as the same cannot be effectively blocked according to the level of technology present in our country today.
The court was hearing the petition filed by Bytes for All through its advocate Yasir Hamdani. He submitted that any filtering and blocking on Internet is counter-productive and predatory.
The petitioner sought directions for the Ministry of IT and the PTA to reopen the functioning of YouTube. He said taking away YouTube’s access is the modern equivalent of taking away the scholar’s pen. He prayed the court to order for restoration access to the YouTube in Pakistan.
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