Twitter threatened with shutdown in Pakistan over objectionable posts

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority has conveyed the court’s concern to Twitter but has not got a response. The authority will implement the court’s orders if Twitter does not respond to the final notice. NISAR AHMED, director general of PTA’S internet policy and web analysis

ISLAMABAD: Twitter has become an influential force in Pakistan’s political space but it faces the danger of being banned because the tech giant has not bended to the government’s notions of what is suitable for public consumption or falls within the constitutional realm of free speech, according to a media report.

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) informed the Senate’s standing committee on the cabinet secretariat that Facebook, Youtube and other social media platforms had complied with requests from the government to block objectionable content but Twitter had not oblige, Dawn newspaper reported on Thursday.

“Out of a hundred requests from Pakistan to block certain offensive material, roughly 5% are entertained. Twitter ignores all the remaining requests,” the director general of PTA’S internet policy and web analysis, Nisar Ahmed, told the committee.

The panel met for a briefing on penalties fixed by the PTA against “derogatory” comments spread through social media targeting the state, its institutions and the people. Twitter has more than 3 million users in Pakistan.

The report said Ahmed informed the committee about last week’s Islamabad high court directive to the regulatory body to serve Twitter a final notice, asking the tech giant to respond to requests from Pakistan or face the risk of being blocked in the country.

According to the PTA, social media sites such as Facebook, Youtube and Dailymotion now see Pakistan as an emerging IT market that they can tap to exponentially grow their businesses.

When Pakistan Tehreek-e-insaf spokesman Fawad Chaudhry was contacted, he said his party is against any kind of censorship on free media.

“Those who do not wish to see objectionable and offensive content should not search for such content,” said Chaudhry, who is tipped to become the information minister in the new government.

In the past, social media sites have been blocked in Pakistan. Facebook was banned in 2008 and 2010. In September 2012, PTA blocked access to Youtube and it remained inaccessible for more than two years.