The Pakistan Telecom Authority has asked YouTube to immediately block ‘vulgar, indecent, immoral, nude content and hate speech in Pakistan.
In a press release issued Thursday, the authority said some YouTube videos also contain hate speech targeting different Muslim sects that has “extremely negative effects” on viewers.
YouTube has also been asked to put in place an effective content monitoring and moderation mechanism so that the objectionable videos remain restricted to the Pakistani audience.
In July 2020, the Supreme Court also took notice of social media and YouTube being used as a medium to spread objectionable content while hearing a bail petition filed by a man accused of a sectarian-based crime. This stirred a debate once again that whether YouTube should be banned in Pakistan or not.
Tania Aidrus, the former PM assistant on digital rights, and Federal Science Minister Fawad Chaudhry spoke out against placing a ban on the online streaming platform.
In September 2012, Pakistan banned access to YouTube till 2016 after a blasphemous film was uploaded on the site.
Aidrus said Pakistani content creators suffered a lot during these years and banning it again only when Pakistani YouTubers were beginning to create an ecosystem will deprive many people of employment.
Similarly, Chaudhry remarked that courts and the PTA should stop “moral policing”. He added that it will only hurt Pakistan’s tech industry.
the article is originally published at SAMAA.