Youtube Ban In Pakistan Lifted; New Monitored Version Now Available, Details Released
Pakistan announced on Monday that it has withdrawn its ban on YouTube and has launched a local version monitored by the government in its attempt to improve the new control.
As the public is aware of, the ban was made back in September 2012 after an anti-Islam Film "Innocence of Muslims" became viral on the said video site. It had ignited violent sparking protests across the major cities in the Muslim-majority Middle-eastern country of 190 million people.
And now, three years later, the ban has been removed upon creating a local version of the site that allows the government to demand the removal of any content that is considered offensive.
Under this new version, the Pakistan Telecommunication authority (PTA) can ask for access to block offending content. The ministry of Information Technology and Telecom said "On the recommendation of PTA, the government of Pakistan has allowed access to the recently launched country version of YouTube for internet users in Pakistan", Cited Reuters.
In a statement to Reuters, a representative from the site has said that they will review each request to make sure that he content, in fact, gets banned under the norms of Pakistani Laws.
"We have clear community guidelines, and when videos violate those rules, we remove them", a statement from Youtube read about the Ban in Pakistan, as cited WIRED. "Where we have launched YouTube locally and we are notified that a video is illegal in that country, we may restrict access to it after a thorough review."
The government could request Google to block access for offending content for users within their country and the ministry told Google and YouTube would "accordingly restrict access" for Pakistani users.
Blasphemy is a highly sensitive subject in the city and angry mobs have murdered many people accused of insulting their religion. The said crime can carry the death penalty (although one has never happened yet).
The Pakistani government has blocked thousands of web pages that are considered undesirable. But activists believe that the government does so to critical voices. However, the three-year ban is now removed. In light of that, some citizens have expressed their delight.
