US movie an eye-opener!

THE ONGOING harsh wave of violent protest across the Muslim world especially in Pakistan against the blasphemous movie recently produced by a US filmmaker has necessitated the need to validate the relevant law for proper and effective application of approach that could ensure better use of the rapidly developing information technology. The modern times witnessing the fast changing dimensions of social interactions across the world which has now turned into a global village, courtesy the information technology and communication. No doubt, that these developments have not only revolutionised almost all spheres of life but also set new courses of researches significantly reducing the span of time involved. Gone are the days when information for somehow or the other used to be curtailed, monitored or, as a last option, blocked. For civil society actors around the world, digital media and online social networking application have entirely the way in which dissent is organized. In the past, authoritarian states easily controlled broadcast media during political crises by destroying newsprint supplies, seizing radio and television stations, and blocking phone calls. Particularly, social movement leaders now use media as an effective and speedy instrument to organize collection action in a global setting. But despite all the current developments and sophistications in dissemination of information using ICTs; the influential states still have control over blocking the information. This is a point of high regret that these states use this option only when certain information has the chance to hurt their own interests. The point to be pondered right now is not the blocking of certain information on internet but the proper use of information technology and internet to reap benefits of this development. In the wake of monopolistic approach of major IT states, who control information across the world, now a number of countries including China, India, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Malaysia and Japan have developed their own search engines. The main benefit they have out of their search engines is the effective and monitoring of the flow of information to their people and has the complete control over them. Pakistan which has emerged as the main hub of ICT activities in recent years needs to develop its own social media site as well as search engine as the YouTube managements brazenly turning down the government of Pakistans recent request to remove the blasphemous US movie from its website is an eye-opener for it rather for the whole Muslim Ummah. Though the repeated attacks on the religion of Islam has intensified the demand for making an international law to control as well as monitor the contents being released on internet, at least the government of Pakistan must take some step to have control over information flow so that it could apply it as and when required.