YouTube to remain blocked 'indefinitely' in Pakistan: officials

Published February 7, 2015
YouTube has been blocked in Pakistan since September 2012. AFP/File
YouTube has been blocked in Pakistan since September 2012. AFP/File

ISLAMABAD: YouTube will remain blocked 'indefinitely' in Pakistan, a government official said Saturday as experts failed to find a way to filter content deemed offensive and blasphemous.

The video-sharing website has been blocked in the country since September 2012 over its hosting of the “Innocence of Muslims”, a movie that sparked furious protests around the world.

The Supreme Court ruled at the time that the site should be banned until a way was found to block all blasphemous content.

“[The] matter was reviewed several times but the situation effectively remains the same,” the minister for information technology and telecommunication Anusha Rehman told the Senate Friday.

“The government does not want to take any chance and wants to make sure that after the unblocking YouTube, no offensive content remains viewable in Pakistan,” a senior government official said.

“So far no tool or solution has been found which can totally block offensive content, that is why YouTube remains blocked and it will remain so indefinitely,” the official said.

Free speech campaigners have long complained of creeping censorship in the name of protecting religion or preventing obscenity, and have described the ban on YouTube as a violation of civil rights.

In November 2011, the telecommunications authority tried to ban nearly 1,700 “obscene” words from text messages, which included innocuous terms such as “lotion”, “athlete's foot” and “idiot”.

In 2010 Pakistan shut down Facebook for nearly two weeks over its hosting of allegedly blasphemous pages. It continues to restrict thousands of online links.

Opinion

Editorial

Military option
Updated 21 Nov, 2024

Military option

While restoring peace is essential, addressing Balochistan’s socioeconomic deprivation is equally important.
HIV/AIDS disaster
21 Nov, 2024

HIV/AIDS disaster

A TORTUROUS sense of déjà vu is attached to the latest health fiasco at Multan’s Nishtar Hospital. The largest...
Dubious pardon
21 Nov, 2024

Dubious pardon

IT is disturbing how a crime as grave as custodial death has culminated in an out-of-court ‘settlement’. The...
Islamabad protest
Updated 20 Nov, 2024

Islamabad protest

As Nov 24 draws nearer, both the PTI and the Islamabad administration must remain wary and keep within the limits of reason and the law.
PIA uncertainty
20 Nov, 2024

PIA uncertainty

THE failed attempt to privatise the national flag carrier late last month has led to a fierce debate around the...
T20 disappointment
20 Nov, 2024

T20 disappointment

AFTER experiencing the historic high of the One-day International series triumph against Australia, Pakistan came...