PTA blocks Wikipedia over blasphemous content
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has blocked Wikipedia services in Pakistan ater their refusal to withdraw blasphemous content.
Earlier, the PTA had degraded its services in Pakistan. A PTA spokesman confirmed the blocking of Wikipedia.
On the instruction of the High Court, the PTA degraded — disrupting and slowing access to the encyclopedia — website for 48 hours because there was blasphemous content on it.
The PTA spokesperson stated that Wikipedia was approached for blocking/removal of the said content by issuing a notice under applicable law and court orders.
An opportunity of hearing was also provided; however, the plaform neither complied by removing the blasphemous content nor appeared before the authority.
Given the intentional failure on part of the plaform to comply with the directions of PTA, the services of Wikipedia were degraded for 48 hours with the direction to block/remove the reported contents.
In case of non-compliance by Wikipedia, the plaform has been blocked within Pakistan.
The restoration of the services of Wikipedia will be reconsidered subject to blocking/removal of the reported unlawful contents.
The PTA is commited to ensuring a safe online experience for all Pakistani citizens according to local laws.
The PTA has worked hard to block websites that contain highly objectionable content.
It has especially not tolerated the sites that have blasphemous material.
The online encyclopedia had been blocked across the country on Friday “ater it failed to respond to our repeated correspondence over removal of the blasphemous content and meet the deadline,” Malahat Obaid, a spokesman for the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, told reporters on Saturday.
An AFP reporter in Pakistan was not able to access the site from a mobile phone on Saturday.
The Wikimedia Foundation — the non-profit fund managing Wikipedia — said the block “denies the fith most populous nation in the world access to the largest free knowledge repository.”
“If it continues, it will also deprive everyone access to Pakistan’s knowledge, history, and culture,” a statement said.
Free speech campaigners have highlighted what they say is a patern of rising government censorship of Pakistan’s printed and electronic media.
“There’s just been a concerted effort to exert greater control over content on the internet,” said digital rights activist Usama Khilji.