The telecommunications regulator Pakistan blocked this Saturday from its national service the popular online encyclopedia Wikipediaafter the content page fails to meet a 48-hour period to remove “unholy material” from its space.
“Wikipedia has been banned in Pakistan for failing to remove sacrilegious content from its website,” Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) spokeswoman Malahat Obaid confirmed to EFE.
The PTA demoted Wikipedia’s services nationwide on Wednesday for failing to comply with guidelines for removing controversial content from its website.
However, “the decision could be reviewed once Wikipedia removes the sacrilegious content from its website,” the spokeswoman added today.
The PTA said in a statement Wednesday that it had contacted Wikipedia to ask it to remove material it deemed blasphemous, issuing a notice in accordance with Pakistani law and court orders.
An opportunity to public was also provided, however, the platform did not comply with the removal of blasphemous content or went before the Authority, indicated in the letter that it does not specify details or examples of what content is considered offensive.
The Pakistani authorities have attempted to force on other occasions Google and Wikipedia eliminate “sacrilegious” content against Islam, sometimes referring to allowing searches and content of Ahmadi doctrine.
The Ahmadi sect is strongly persecuted in Pakistan, a country where the penal code forbids them to “pretend to be Muslims”, call their temples mosques or sell texts from their own community.
Other platforms have been blocked in the past for content deemed immoral by conservative and Islamic Pakistan, including dating apps Tinder, Grindr, Tagged, Skout and SayHi.
Wikipedia’s answer
In a statement, the Wikimedia Foundation, which runs Wikipedia, said the blockade “prevents the world’s fifth-most populous nation from accessing the largest free repository of knowledge.” “If it continues like this, it will also deprive the world of access to Pakistani knowledge, history and culture,” she added.
For digital rights defender Usama Khilji, the blocking of Wikipedia is the result of “a concerted effort to exercise greater control over Internet content”.
“The main goal is to silence any dissent,” he told AFP, noting that “profanity is often used for this purpose.”
In the past, some pages of the encyclopedia had already been censored in Pakistan. Also social media giants Facebook in 2010 and YouTube between 2012 and 2016 they were blocked for the same reason.
More recently, video-sharing platform TikTok has repeatedly been blocked from broadcasting in the country for content deemed “indecent” and “immoral”.
A debate is thus rekindled free access to information and freedom of expression.
Source: EFE
Source: Clarin
Linda Price is a tech expert at News Rebeat. With a deep understanding of the latest developments in the world of technology and a passion for innovation, Linda provides insightful and informative coverage of the cutting-edge advancements shaping our world.