Words cannot describe the foolishness of the latest move by the Sindh government to ‘curb’ terrorism. In an inexplicable move, the provincial government has suspended essential free cyber messaging applications such as Skype, Whatsapp, Tango and Viber for three months, stating security concerns as the reason behind this step. Many are shocked that the Sindh […]
The PPP had demonstrated that it understood little of how the internet worked when it banned YouTube to block access to one of the billions of videos on the site. That ban has now been in place for over a year and seems to have become sadly permanent. Now, the PPP provincial government in Sindh […]
ISLAMABAD: In a bid to reopen social media website YouTube soon in Pakistan, the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication has dispatched a summary to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, seeking necessary approval prior to his departure to United States, The Nation learnt on Saturday. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is scheduled to visit New York on […]
ISLAMABAD: In a nondescript, creeper-draped building in the capital of Islamabad, a small team of men is purging Pakistan’s Internet. Shadowy government officials are blocking thousands of pages deemed undesirable. But they are not fast enough. So the government is now testing Canadian software that can block millions of sites a second. The censorship helps […]
We have now completed a full year with the YouTube ban in place, forcing some to do without one of the most popular internet sites in the world, many others to resort to proxies of various kinds, putting up with the nuisances these ‘by-pass’ mechanisms cause. So, what has the ban, slapped on after an […]
By: Dr Haider Shah It is tragic that while we see all hate preachers doing brisk business over the internet, sites of science and humanism have been axed Together with countries like China, Iran and Turkmenistan, Pakistan happens to be a place where people cannot access YouTube because of an official ban by the government. […]
ISLAMABAD: The ministry of information technology was upbeat about lifting the ban on video sharing website YouTube after having finally acquired the ‘missing’ filters to block blasphemous content within days but it seems that the matter will consume more time. On August 22, State Minister for Information Technology Anusha Rehman revealed during a briefing that […]
Social media website You Tube was banned in Pakistan in September 2012 after a blasphemous video titled “Innocence of Muslims” was uploaded on it which caused mass scale protests/riots leading to loss of life/property across the Muslim world and the operator of the popular webpage Google, refused to remove it. This was not the first […]
I had been considering writing on this topic for a while, but I foolishly believed it to be ‘trivial’ or ‘unimportant’, or even ‘so incredibly stupid that my brain hurt to dwell on it for more than a moment’. But our elected leadership and our guardians of justice have managed to open my stubborn eyes. […]
If adult sites can be effectively blocked in Pakistan, why cant objectionable material be banned on YouTube? It is incomprehensible why a decision on unblocking the site cannot be taken. Is the matter more complicated than the Kashmir problem? Jahanzeb Rawalpindi The News
“Do you use YouTube, Minister?” I asked. “No, because it is not allowed,” she replied sounding a little taken aback. “Do you think your internet experience has been qualitatively compromised since that ban?” I followed up. “Yes, of course, it has,” she replied again. I thanked her for her time and left her office. My […]
LAHORE: The minister for information technology and her secretary again did not appear before the Lahore High Court and the judge again issued notices to them on a petition challenging the ban imposed by the former government last year on the Youtube for exhibiting blasphemous material on it. On Tuesday, the court was informed that […]
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will take a final decision on re-opening of YouTube in Pakistan after Eid Ul Fitr in accordance with the recommendations prepared by an inter-ministerial committee. According to an announcement made by Ministry of Information Technology (MoIT) on Wednesday, the Minister of State for IT&T, Anusha Rahman, has directed to convene […]
The many freedoms the Pakistani press and media enjoy today are a result of years of vibrant activism and struggle by journalists and civil society. The state (and all its various manifestations) unable to have direct control (of privately owned media) because of decent media laws, now employs subversive tactics to keep things under control. […]
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