Twitter Threatened With Shutdown In Pakistan, Here Is Why!

The Pak­istan Telecommuni­cation Authority (PTA) informed the Senate Standing Com­mittee on Cabinet Secre­tariat that while Facebook, YouTube and other social media platforms complied with requests from the government to block objectionable content, Twitter did not oblige.

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New Delhi: Twitter has been warned by Pakistan’s telecom authority that the micro-blogging site could be banned in Pakistan. They were warned after not complying with its directive to block objectionable content, according to a media report. The Pak­istan Telecommuni­cation Authority (PTA) informed the Senate Standing Com­mittee on Cabinet Secre­tariat that while Facebook, YouTube and other social media platforms complied with requests from the government to block objectionable content, Twitter did not oblige. “Out of a hundred requests from Pakistan to block certain offensive material, roughly five per cent are entertained. Twitter ignores all the remaining requests,” Director General of PTA’s Internet Policy and Web Analysis, Nisar Ahmed, told the committee. Informing the committee about Islamabad High Court’s recent directive to the PTA to ask Twitter to respond to requests from Pakistan or face the risk of being blocked in the country. Meanwhile, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf information secretary Fawad Chaudhry has said that his party was against any kind of censorship on free media, the report said. “Those who do not wish to see objectionable and offensive content should not search for such content. Social media is not just for recreation and entertainment. There are jobs and households associated with the business. Blocking social media websites will have both social and economic impacts,” Chaudhry, who is tipped to become information minister in the new government led by PTI chief Imran Khan, said.