Islamabad: The Pakistan Supreme Court took notice of “objectionable content” on YouTube and other social media platform, saying they were filled with content instigating the public against the army, the judiciary and the government.
Hearing a bail petition of a man accused of a sectarian crime, a three-member SC bench said that if the content could not be removed, they should be banned. “On YouTube and social media, even our families are not being spared from criticism,” Justice Qazi Ameen said. “We gave a verdict earlier and today it’s already being commented on YouTube,” he said, claiming everyone acts like an expert on social media. “There are several countries where YouTube is banned. Try uploading content against America and the European Union,” he said, seemingly ignorant about videos criticising every aspect of both those entities.
Responding to queries, officials of Pakistan Telecommunication Authority and Federal Investigation Agency said they could not remove “individual content but could only report it.” The court then issued notices to the attorney general and the foreign office. While not directly referring to the hearing, science and technology minister Fawad Chaudhry tweeted that any bans on social media should be avoided. “Courts and PTA must stay away from moral policing and ban approach.”
Pak warns TikTok
Pakistan has issued a final warning to Chinese-owned app TikTok to clamp down on what it called “immoral, obscene and vulgar” content on the video-sharing platform. The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority said that it had ordered the firm to put filters in place to stop “obscenity”. A TikTok official said the platform had removed more than 3.7 million videos that violated standards in Pakistan between July 1and December 31last year.
