Wikipedia has been blocked in Pakistan by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) for failing to "block/remove sacrilegious information" within the allotted 48 hours, a spokeswoman stated on Saturday.Wikipedia is a free, open-source, editable online encyclopedia that millions of people use as a starting point for basic knowledge.
Since Wikipedia had not complied with orders to remove information that was problematic from the website, the PTA had on Wednesday downgraded Wikipedia services across the nation.The regulator said that neither the website had complied with its requirements nor removed the problematic information.
PTA spokeswoman Malahat Obaid told Dawn.com that the main reason for the ban's imposition was failure to follow the directives.
The representative continued, "The decision can be revisited once Wikipedia removes sacrilegious information that has been detected by the regulatory authorities.
Upon attempting to visit the website, users are greeted with "this site cannot be accessible".
The foundation that operates Wikipedia, the Wikimedia Foundation, stated yesterday that it "does not make choices concerning what information is allowed on Wikipedia or how that content is maintained.
This is done "by design to guarantee that articles are the product of many individuals coming together to select what information should be provided on the web, resulting in richer, more unbiased articles," it was stated.
"We think that everyone has the right to access knowledge. The greatest free information collection is inaccessible to Pakistan due to a restriction on Wikipedia. Pakistan is the world's fifth most populated country. If it continues, everyone will lose access to Pakistan's history and culture, the statement continued. The telecom regulator stated in a statement earlier this week that it had contacted Wikipedia to request that the offending content be blocked or removed by filing a notice in accordance with "relevant legislation and court order(s)".
The platform was given a chance to be heard, but neither cooperated by deleting the offensive material nor showed up in front of the authority, according to the statement.
The statement said, "Given the platform's deliberate refusal to comply with the PTA's orders, Wikipedia services have been downgraded for 48 hours with the direction to block/remove the reported information.
Wikipedia would be blocked in the nation if the regulator's warning is disregarded, and its restoration will be "reconsidered subject to blocking/removal of the alleged unlawful content," the regulator said.
‘Silencing of dissent’
Free speech campaigners have highlighted what they say is a pattern of rising government censorship of print and electronic media.
“There’s just been a concerted effort to exert greater control over content on the internet,” digital rights activist Usama Khilji told AFP. “The main purpose is to silence any dissent. A lot of times blasphemy is weaponised for that purpose.”
Khilji said courts and the regulator must realise that Wikipedia is a “crowd-sourced platform where anyone with an account can edit articles, which they can also do instead of blocking the entire website”.
0 Comments