PTA orders You Tube to block ‘Objectionable Content’
Lahore, 3rd September: Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) had once again approached YouTube asking them to block objectionable content in Pakistan.
According to reports of Baaghi TV, PTA has asked the video-sharing platform YouTube to immediately block vulgar, indecent, immoral, nude, and hate speech content for viewing in Pakistan.
The announcement came soon after a number of dating apps including Tinder, Grindr, SayHi, and Tagged were banned.
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Dawn states that the PTA has taken the step keeping in view the negative effect of indecent/immoral/nude content available on YouTube and to prevent repugnant discord that may be caused by the presence of hate speech and sectarian material.
The PTA said in a statement that it had approached YouTube to ensure blocking of objectionable content and to prevent the use of its platform for disseminating such content.
Press Release: PTA has once again approached 'YouTube' to immediately block vulgar, indecent, immoral, nude and hate speech content for viewing in Pakistan. pic.twitter.com/LoGUHWdEI5
— PTA (@PTAofficialpk) September 2, 2020
The platform has been directed to put in place an effective content-monitoring and moderation mechanism so that unlawful material is detected and not allowed to run in the country.
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YouTube did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and a PTA spokesman declined to speak about the authority’s next step if the Google-owned platform does not comply.
This is not the first time the authorities in Pakistan have targeted YouTube. It was blocked in 2012 after a film made in the US negatively depicted Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and triggered violent protests across the Muslim world.
It was restored in 2016 after YouTube launched a country-specific version ensuring the filtering of content deemed blasphemous, said the Dawn.
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