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                        <title>The Express Tribune</title>
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			<title>Censorship: News website Rolling Stones accessible again</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/547023/censorship-news-website-rolling-stones-accessible-again</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/547023/censorship-news-website-rolling-stones-accessible-again#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 10 May 13 16:42:26 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[web.desk]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=547023</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The website blocked since  2011 has now been made accessible.]]>
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				<![CDATA[The website of the American news magazine, Rolling Stone that has been inaccessible to Pakistani internet users since 2011 was reopened earlier this week.

At least 13 Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in Pakistan had blocked the website shortly after it published an article highlighting Pakistan's excessive military spending. The article was written by Rolling Stone blogger Matt Taibbi.

Earlier this week, internet users, much to their surprise reported they could access the website again.

https://twitter.com/shobz/status/332208957529673728

Pakistan has taken to censoring a number of websites in the past for various reasons, including blasphemy. YouTube has been inaccessible in the country since September 2012.]]>
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			<title>Anti-Islam video: Govt unlikely to lift YouTube ban</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/472022/anti-islam-video-govt-unlikely-to-lift-youtube-ban</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/472022/anti-islam-video-govt-unlikely-to-lift-youtube-ban#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 27 Nov 12 22:15:35 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[umer.nangiana]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=472022</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[IT ministry cannot restore website without directives from PM, inter-ministerial panel.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[YouTube users in Pakistan will probably have to wait much longer than they anticipated before they can call up the popular video-sharing website again.


The problem stems from the fact that Pakistan and the United States lack a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT), which is what the company usually uses to filter out objectionable videos.

Google, which owns YouTube, has refused to remove the anti-Islam video that triggered widespread protests across the country. As a result, the authorities banned the website indefinitely. Two months have passed since then.

In the absence of a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) with the United States, all that Pakistan can do is use diplomatic channels to request the US government to make the social website accept Pakistan’s demand, according to an information technology ministry official.

“I am sure the US government will respect our request,” said the official. “YouTube has always asked us to use MLAT for requests to remove the video as they are not bound by our local laws,” he added.

The treaty, according to the official, allows and facilitates two governments to enforce public and criminal laws. But Pakistan and the US have no such treaty between them. The IT ministry has already asked the foreign ministry to initiate the treaty. “It is a long process. It will take at least a year to materialise,” said the official.



The assistance under MLAT provides for “immobilisationof the instruments of criminal activity” which can be used to pressure Google for the removal of any objectionable content that violates local public or criminal laws or damages a partner country’s interests, said an official from the IT ministry’s legal department.

“This is the only possible way out at present. YouTube management is not ready to remove the controversial video despite our repeated requests, and we cannot restore the social website until it does so,” the IT ministry official said.

“To block the website, the IT ministry received approval from the prime minister on the condition that YouTube will remain blocked until it removes the video,” he said.  An inter-ministerial committee that includes the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), ministry of religious affairs, the Intelligence Bureau, the Telecom Department, IT ministry and others is the only authorised body to order YouTube’s restoration. “It was blocked on the same committee’s orders,” said the official.

The IT ministry cannot supersede the premier’s orders or the committee’s decision to restore the website on its own. That decision lies with the prime minister. “If he wishes to restore the website as it is, he needs to issue an order to the IT ministry but he cannot risk ignoring the committee’s decision,” the official added.

The government doesn’t want to risk restoring the website with the controversial video still accessible. The alleged blasphemous video triggered violent protests across Pakistan and much of the Muslim world.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 28th, 2012.]]>
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			<title>Pakistan’s human rights review: Internet censorship comes under scrutiny</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/460098/pakistan%e2%80%99s-human-rights-review-internet-censorship-comes-under-scrutiny</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/460098/pakistan%e2%80%99s-human-rights-review-internet-censorship-comes-under-scrutiny#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 03 Nov 12 06:28:59 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[our.correspondent]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category><category><![CDATA[World]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=460098</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Netherlands asks Islamabad to remove restrictions on internet access.]]>
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			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[As part of a review of Pakistan’s human rights standing, the Netherlands has recommended that Pakistan remove restrictions on internet access.

The recommendation is part of a draft report of the UN Human Rights Council working group on the Universal Periodic Review of Pakistan.

In the draft report, released on November 2, the working group has listed this demand along with 163 other recommendations on the country’s rights record.

The video sharing site, YouTube, has been suspended in Pakistan since September 17, 2012.

Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf ordered the ban over a blasphemous movie trailer that incited protests around the world.

It is the fourth time the site has been banned since 2008.

Second review

Pakistan presented its second Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Report in the UN Human Rights Council on Tuesday, October 30. Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar defended Pakistan’s progress since the last review in 2008. The Review, created in 2006, takes place every four years and is a state-driven process.

Pakistan will have to respond to the recommendations by March 2013 at the 22nd session of the Council. The response will then be included in the outcome report adopted by the Council in that session.

“It is a great opportunity as it is now part of UN Human Rights Council’s recommendations to the government and we can continue to build pressure on the government to do better on net freedom in the country,” said Shahzad Ahmad from Bytes for All (B4A), Pakistan, a human rights organisation that focuses on the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for social justice and development in the country.

Ahmad presented a shadow report along with two UN accredited international NGOs, Association for Progressive Communications and Freedom House.

“This is first time ever that a shadow report on internet rights in Pakistan was submitted and a UN member state picked it up and put it as a recommendation for the government to improve internet rights in the country,” he wrote to The Express Tribune in an email from Geneva.

Internet-based human rights

Netherlands made the recommendation that Pakistan “(r)emove restrictions on accessing internet in the country, which runs counter to the criteria of the ICCPR [International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights] and the principle of proportionality.”

Internet-based human right issues were not part of Pakistan’s first review in 2008. President Asif Ali Zardari signed the ICCPR in June 2010 and made Pakistan signatory to the law which commits it to respect the civil and political rights of individuals, including freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, electoral rights and rights to a fair trial.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 3rd, 2012.]]>
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			<title>Video controversy: YouTube likely to remain blocked in Pakistan indefinitely</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/446121/video-controversy-youtube-likely-to-remain-blocked-in-pakistan-indefinitely</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/446121/video-controversy-youtube-likely-to-remain-blocked-in-pakistan-indefinitely#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 02 Oct 12 23:47:34 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[farooq.tirmizi]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=446121</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Google refuses to block video, govt refuses to unblock YouTube until it does.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Pakistani users of video-sharing website YouTube are caught between an unstoppable force and an immovable object: the government of Pakistan refuses to unblock access to YouTube in the country until Google, which owns the website, restricts access to the video “Innocence of Muslims” in Pakistan, and Google refuses to block access to the video in Pakistan.

Google’s decision not to restrict access to the video in Pakistan, while complying with requests to do so in Indonesia, Egypt, Libya, India, and even Brazil has left many of its users in Pakistan perplexed. The technology blog ProPakistani.pk reports that officials from the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority approached Google about taking down the video or at least blocking it in Pakistan, but did not receive a response.

A spokesperson for YouTube, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Google, explained, however, that the decision not to block access in Pakistan had to do with the way the company serves content to its Pakistani users.

“We offer a localised version of YouTube in 49 countries around the world. In each localised country (e.g. in Indonesia through www.youtube.co.id), we offer local content that is more relevant to users in that country and we also abide by that country’s laws,” explained the YouTube spokesperson in an e-mail to The Express Tribune. “When we are notified that a video is illegal, we will restrict access to it in that country after a thorough review.”

This localisation policy explains why the video was blocked in other countries but not in Pakistan. “In countries where we are not localised, like Pakistan, people access the global version of YouTube on youtube.com,” she added. This global version of YouTube follows US law, which has the broadest definitions of free speech anywhere in the world.

It seems, however, that officials at the PTA find this explanation to be perplexing. Many of the PTA officials interviewed by ProPakistani said that they do not understand why YouTube cannot use geographic identification techniques – which identify the location of the IP address trying to access a website – and simply block that specific video for Pakistani users.

They cite the example of Facebook, which faced a similar controversy over a competition organised by some US-based users of the website to draw cartoons depicting Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Facebook responded to the controversy by blocking the page in countries that requested it to be blocked.

It is likely, however, that the difference in Google’s approach and that of Facebook is explained by the fact that Facebook offers one website to its users worldwide, while Google has made an effort almost from the outset to offer as much customisation by geography as possible for many of its products, and YouTube is no exception.

“It is Google’s goal to offer local versions of YouTube to more places worldwide (Malaysia and Indonesia are examples of recent localisations), but it takes time,” said the YouTube spokesperson. “The localisation process can be lengthy as we research laws and build relationships with local content creators.  Eventually, we hope to be localised everywhere.”

Google officials visited Pakistan late last month in what appears to be the beginning of the process Pakistan to deepen its relationship with the country, but in the aftermath of the controversy over the video, that process is likely to be affected according to sources familiar with the matter. The government of Pakistan’s attempts to block YouTube have disrupted several other services as well.

“It is not easy to block Google’s services because of the architecture of the websites. So it is not just YouTube that is being affected. There have been intermittent interruptions in Google Maps, Android Play Store, and Google Drive,” said one source.

Many Pakistani users of Android-based phones, which utilise Google’s software and make extensive use of its services, have been badly affected by the blockage, though others report less disruptions.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 3rd, 2012.]]>
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			<title>YouTube will not be unblocked anytime soon: Report</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/445189/youtube-will-not-be-unblocked-anytime-soon-report</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/445189/youtube-will-not-be-unblocked-anytime-soon-report#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 01 Oct 12 10:37:03 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[web.desk]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=445189</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[PTA, IT Ministry officials say PM will not order restoration of the site until video is blocked in Pakistan.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Popular video-sharing website YouTube will not be unblocked anytime soon, says a report by ProPakistani.com.

In an interview with ProPakistani, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and Ministry of Information and Technology officials were determined not to unblock YouTube unless Google decides to take the anti-Islam video offline – internationally or at least in Pakistan – since the decision was covered by a court order.

YouTube, owned by IT giant Google, had been blocked in Pakistan after the release of an anti-Islam film’s trailer on the site. The site had been blocked in other countries including Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

Despite requests by the Pakistani government and concerned authorities to block the video or pull it down, Google did not comply and the video-sharing site has been blocked for almost three weeks now.

However, Google had blocked the video in Malaysia, Indonesia, Libya, Egypt and India.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a PTA official said that that procedures were initiated to get the video blocked in Pakistan, but YouTube did not respond as Pakistan has no legal control over the company.

Responding to a question regarding whether MLAT (Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty) – an agreement between two countries for gathering, exchanging and enforcing public and criminal laws – was an obstacle in the issue because Pakistan had not signed MLAT with USA, the PTA officials explained that USA does not have MLAT with either Libya, Indonesia or Singapore too, but Google had blocked the video due to US government pressure or on-ground offices in those states.

PTA officials added that countries, where Google has its physical presence or has infrastructure (datacenters) in place, were in a better position to get the video blocked.

“Unlike Google, Facebook had removed the blasphemous content from its website for users in Pakistan and was hence unblocked after two weeks in 2010. Google, however, has decided otherwise and this is why it will remain blocked until it acts,” the official said.

PTA officials cautioned that if Google wanted to retain its customers in Pakistan, then it will have to act sensibly and comply with the government’s request.

An IT ministry official said that the prime minister would not order the restoration of YouTube until the anti-Islam video was blocked in Pakistan as well.

The ban has disrupted other Google services as well, causing serious issues for individuals and businesses in the country.

Android, Google’s mobile operating system, has been affected so much so that almost no service, including Gmail, Maps, Contact Sync, Play Store, was functional, making all Android devices almost useless.]]>
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			<title>Government orders blockade of blasphemous, indecent content online</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/430558/government-orders-blockade-of-blasphemous-indecent-content-online</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/430558/government-orders-blockade-of-blasphemous-indecent-content-online#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 03 Sep 12 08:34:13 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[web.desk]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=430558</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Policy directive issued through Ministry of IT, PTA to handle filtration.]]>
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				<![CDATA[The Government of Pakistan, through the Ministry of Information Technology, has issued a policy directive to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) for the implementation of a URL filtration system to block blasphemous and indecent websites and content, the Daily Jang has reported.

ProPakistani reports that from the content of the directive, it appears that PTA will be handling the filtration of the websites. It has been given the authority to take measures and independently block websites consisting of blasphemous and pornographic content.

It has also been reported that the directive was issued on the direct orders of Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf with input from President Asif Ali Zardari.

The government unveiled its plan to implement a filtration system in February this year when the ICT R&amp;D Fund had asked vendors for proposals. After much criticism from activists and local and foreign media, it had been reported that the plan to set up the system had been shelved.

A version of this post originally appeared on ProPakistani.]]>
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			<title>PTA called out for protecting those in ‘corridors of power’</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/421505/pta-called-out-for-protecting-those-in-%e2%80%98corridors-of-power%e2%80%99</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/421505/pta-called-out-for-protecting-those-in-%e2%80%98corridors-of-power%e2%80%99#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 13 Aug 12 09:46:39 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[web.desk]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=421505</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[PTA had issued directives to block 'sensual conversations between two sitting parliamentarians.']]>
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				<![CDATA[Advocacy group Bolo Bhi has strongly condemned Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) directives that curb the free flow of information to “protect those in the corridors of power”.

It has called on the authority to “stop violating the constitution and judicial orders through its acts of indiscriminate and ad hoc blocking of online content.”

In a recent order issued by the PTA, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) had been ordered to block ‘scandalous content’ including “sensual conversations between two sitting parliamentarians.”

According to a report published in The News, PTA had issued directives to the ISPs for blocking “desired web links” and has emphasised on blocking footage of a press conference where a female TV anchor levels allegations against the “boss” of a TV channel and also a website that has an audio recording of a “sensual conversation” between two notable members of an opposition party.

Bolo Bhi states that the report makes it obvious that PTA continues to use morality, religion and national security as an excuse to block political and controversial content.
The Ministry of IT’s method of regulating online content is non-transparent and politically motivated, making it highly questionable and unconstitutional. By excluding civil society in decision-making, the Ministry of IT as well as the PTA have continued to block content based on what the state deems objectionable. This needs to stop. The PTA must respect the judicial stay order on blocking of content online.
Their demands are:

	The Ministry of IT and the State should stop using the PTA to curb free flow of information for the sake of protecting those in the corridors of power.
	The Ministry must include industry, civil society and academic representation in the inter ministerial committee responsible for making decisions regarding online content regulation.
	Both, the Ministry of IT and PTA, in issuing directives and having them implemented, should respect and uphold the right to information and make public the list of websites that have been blocked and unblock all such content as per the judicial order.]]>
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			<title>IT ministry shelves plan to install massive URL blocking system</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/352172/it-ministry-shelves-plan-to-install-massive-url-blocking-system</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/352172/it-ministry-shelves-plan-to-install-massive-url-blocking-system#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 19 Mar 12 17:09:04 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Shahbaz Rana]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=352172</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[MNA Bushra Gohar confirms project to be taken back. MoIT to issue statement tomorrow.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[The Ministry of Information Technology (MoIT) has apparently decided to shelve its plans to install a massive URL blocking system.

The MoIT, through its research arm, the National Information &amp; Communication Technology Research and Development Fund had thorough a public advertisement on February 23, 2012, sought bids for a system that “should be able to handle a block list of up to 50 million URLs with a processing delay of not more than 1 millisecond.”

On Monday, Member National Assembly Bushra Gohar confirmed to The Express Tribune that the MoIT had decided to reverse its decision. “Secretary IT Farooq Ahmed Awan said to me that the URL project has been withdrawn due to the concern shown by various stakeholders,” the legislator from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa said.

Welcoming the move, Gohar said that she would ask Secretary IT to launch an inquiry against those posted the advertisement without proper consultation.

Meanwhile, the MoIT has neither confirmed nor denied the report. Naseem Akhter Bhatti, the MoIT spokesperson, said that the ministry was not the only stakeholder, and that Pakistan Telecommunication Authority  (PTA) too was a stakeholder. A statement over the project will be issued tomorrow.

The PTA had earlier stated its determination in taking steps that blocked “blasphemous and objectionable content.” PTA sources had said last week that, being the telecom regulator in the country, they would implement policies to block websites with “blasphemous, un-Islamic, offensive, objectionable, unethical, and immoral material,” as per their mandate, and or per instructions from the government.]]>
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			<title>Living with the internet nanny</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/350939/living-with-the-internet-nanny</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/350939/living-with-the-internet-nanny#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 16 Mar 12 17:00:20 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[tazeen.javed]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=350939</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[As ISPs get money from users, it will be the users who end up paying for cyber surveillance against themselves]]>
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				<![CDATA[Pakistan has the dubious distinction of being placed quite high on all the lists that a country must avoid. While it is one of the most corrupt countries with bad governance records, it is also the most dangerous country in the world for journalists. Furthermore, we are not far behind the countries that top the lists for suppressing the rights of religious minorities and we have high maternal and infant mortality rates. In addition to all of this, our government has sought proposals to build a firewall that will filter and block a whopping 50 million undesirable URLs in an attempt to restrict internet access which we have always had.

Censorship is not alien to Pakistan or to this region. Burma, Yemen, Bahrain and Qatar all monitor political discussion and access to information in their countries. The ‘Great Firewall’ that engulfs over a billion-strong in China, is known to all. Governments in Iran, Saudi Arabia and UAE also filter content, which they deem unsuitable for the cultural and religious sensibilities of their societies. Unlike all these countries –– which are either monarchies or authoritarian regimes –– however, Pakistan is a multiparty democracy.

The proposal calls for a blanket ban on pornographic and undesirable content, but who gets to decide what will be tabled under the category of ‘pornography’? In the past, even high-profile social media websites like Facebook and Twitter have been called dating websites that spread immorality, to curb people’s access to them.

The government has already blocked alternative news websites such as Baloch Hal and others featuring stories from Balochistan that do not get any space in mainstream media. Who knows what else will be bracketed ‘undesirable’ once the filters are in place. The centralised nature of the database under the proposed filtering system, will enable the government to do this efficiently. It should also be noted that the proposal does not call for any oversight or contribution from the elected representatives, human rights groups, civil society organisations or any of the consumer groups.

As part of their licensing agreement with the Pakistan Telecom Authority, all internet service providers (ISP) are required to donate money to the National Information and Communication Technology Research and Development Fund, which called for the proposal. As the ISPs get their money from the users, it will be the users who end up paying for the cyber surveillance against themselves. How ironic!

In the day and age when most people are moving away from traditional sources of information, entertainment and employment, and turning to the World Wide Web for it all, they will find ways to circumvent the government ban, and all the money spent on the project would go down the drain.

Life with a firewall which monitors content is just like living with a cyber nanny who has the authority to slap your wrists if you say something or seek information that she does not like –– what adult would want to live like that?

Published in The Express Tribune, March 17th, 2012.]]>
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			<title>'Pakistan may become Enemy of the Internet, 2013'</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/350422/pakistan-may-become-enemy-of-the-internet-2013</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/350422/pakistan-may-become-enemy-of-the-internet-2013#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 15 Mar 12 09:59:39 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[express]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=350422</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Reporters Without Borders says internet filter would result in the creation of an Electronic Great Wall.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Reporters Without Borders, in its 2012 report on countries that are “Enemies of the Internet” has stated that Pakistan may be in the list next year for its attempt to set up a nation-wide internet filtering system.

The report states:
"At the time of writing, Pakistan has invited private-sector companies to bid for the creation of a national Internet filtering and blocking system. Reporters Without Borders has asked the authorities to abandon this project, which would result in the creation of an Electronic Great Wall. If they go ahead, Pakistan could be added to the Enemies of the Internet in 2013."
This latest warning comes in the wake of growing local and international outcry after the National ICT R&amp;D Fund, a division of the Ministry of Information Technology, floated a proposal for a system “able to handle a block list of up to 50 million URLs with a processing delay of not more than 1 millisecond.”

Access Now, a non-profit, human rights, public policy and advocacy group also launched a campaign to call on IT companies not to "play a role in putting up the walls of censorship."

The campaign, which calls upon Bluecoat, Huawei, McAfee, Netsweeper, ZTE, and all local bidders to not participate in aiding the set up of the filtering system, gathered 17,243 signatures at the time this report was filed.

A number of other local and international groups including Bolo Bhi, Bytes for All, Human Rights First, Electronic Frontier Foundation and Websense have also issued statements against the internet filtering system.

The controversial move by the Pakistan government has also garnered coverage by the New York Times, Forbes, TIME and other foreign and local press.]]>
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			<title>Pornographic terrorism</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/349936/pornographic-terrorism</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/349936/pornographic-terrorism#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 14 Mar 12 17:01:32 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[sami.shah]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=349936</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Maybe government should hire that 15-year-old to compile a new list, showing all terrorist groups we failed to ban.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Apparently the only thing we can ban effectively is internet pornography. All over Pakistan, teenage boys frantically scour the web, hoping with each new browser refresh that they will be faced with a wall of questionable thumbnails and a gallery of sad people fornicating sadly, only to be met time and time again by a tragic THIS SITE IS RESTRICTED. The effectiveness of the ban on online porn was, no doubt, enhanced by the hard work and dedication shown by a teenage boy who gave PTCL a list of over 780,000 websites that he claims to have personally checked. For a 15-year-old to have done so without being reduced to a smoldering husk is, no doubt, some kind of epic feat that defies human physiology. Unfortunately, what he has accomplished so proudly at 15, he will come to regret deeply when he is 18. History will remember him as one of the greatest villains mankind has ever known and only in his later years will he truly appreciate the damage that he has wrought. Soon, teenage boys will begin to run amok, leaving devastation in their wake. They are not equipped to deal with a world in which they have to make do with imagination alone. The effectiveness of this ban could truly cripple their minds and bodies.

Unfortunately, it’s this kind of efficiency that is lacking in the ban on extremist organisations. Maybe the government should hire that 15-year-old with the burning retinas to compile a new list, this one showing all the terrorist groups that we have failed to ban in anything resembling an effective manner. Apparently, for groups like Sipah-e-Sahaba (SSP), all it took to dodge that embargo on their existence was a simple change of name. Retitled the Ahl-e-Sunnat Wal Jamaat, they continue to operate openly, even announcing publicly that deep down they are still Sipah-e-Sahaba. They might as well have all just put on large spectacles and changed their hairstyles, given how easily the authorities were convinced of their new identity. This is the same organisation that gave birth to not just the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, but is also considered the parent of Jaish-e-Mohammed and most likely the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. That is one poisoned womb that disgorged three children who are intent on making their parents proud. Instead of sitting the SSP leadership down and discussing family planning and responsible parenthood techniques, we are simply standing by and watching as it continues to raise those children on a diet of extremism and violence.

Rehman Malik, apparently stealing a page from the PTI’s playbook, has declared his intent to consider a dialogue with banned groups before revising the current list. The PTI justifies its association with extremists as the first step in a negotiation much in the same way that America is talking to the Taliban. Because, you know, America clearly knows what it is doing in that regard and has such a wonderfully proven track record of successes in the whole war on terror. When you justify your decisions as being the same as those made by a country that is not yet done punishing the Afghans for what the Saudis did, you might need to reconsider your motivations. Rehman Malik, meanwhile, has announced that talks will happen only if these organisations close down their militant wings. This in a country where every major political party wields a militant wing of its own. Although, all the extremist groups need to do is just change the name from ‘Militant Wing’ to ‘Shiny Happy Smiley Wing.’ Apparently, it’s all you need to do to fool people here.

All of which goes to prove — that in Pakistan — it is easier to commit terrorism and get away with it than to watch some porn. At least, until the porn sites catch on and rename themselves too.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 15th, 2012.]]>
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			<title>How to say yes to online censorship</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/348993/how-to-say-yes-to-online-censorship</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/348993/how-to-say-yes-to-online-censorship#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 12 Mar 12 18:34:19 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Jahanzaib Haque]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=348993</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[PTA must issue list of blocked websites, explain for who, what, why, how long, per which law, they were banned.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[There are two opposing narratives being discussed about the government’s call for a national level internet blocking and filtering system, and both must be understood to find a path forward.

On the one hand, NGOs, internet monitoring groups, parts of the press and civil society are up in arms against the threat this proposal poses to freedom of expression and the right to information. On the other hand, we have a second narrative by Internet Service Providers (ISP) representatives, IT experts and tech bloggers who claim that the intent of a system capable of blocking up to 50 million sites is to speed up and ensure accuracy of the process, as currently ISPs have to manually block sites — a tedious and error-prone process. ISPs and the authorities are flabbergasted to find their efforts to streamline this process being ‘demonised’ by ‘propaganda’ aimed at ‘twisting’ their efforts into a freedom of speech or the right to information issue.

According to this narrative, the National ICT Research and Development Fund, which floated the proposal, is merely trying to offer local IT companies an opportunity to develop this system. How can something that creates jobs and enhances the capacity of local companies while not introducing anything new (policy-wise) be bad for Pakistan? This must be a conspiracy to defame the nation. This narrative also includes the cultural mantras of ‘porn destroys the moral fabric of society’, ‘blasphemous content cannot be tolerated’, ‘Baloch separatists should not be allowed a voice’. How can this narrative be reconciled with that of a government out to clamp down on the internet?

It cannot be denied that www.rollingstone.com is blocked due to a single anti-Pakistan army article. It cannot be denied that Baloch news websites are blocked en masse, with no accountability regarding who judged what specific content to be ‘too separatist’. It cannot be denied that all of Facebook was banned for hosting blasphemous content causing great harm to the fledgling local online economy. Now, doesn’t the narrative of an imminent threat to the internet by a better, faster blocking system make sense? It does.

Now to reconcile the two narratives. Yes, completely uncensored internet does not exist — there are things that need to be censored. This much should be acceptable to all. But how do we choose what is to be censored and how should it be censored? Sure, an automated system makes sense, but given the government’s history, this system should not be allowed without explicit involvement and monitoring by independent bodies. There is a trust deficit that the government needs to fill by taking the public on board and speaking directly to the pressure groups they feel are ‘conspiring’ against them. Additionally, the system must work for the public good and not cater to public sentiment i.e., sites cannot be banned due to pressure from a public outcry as was seen in the blanket ban on Facebook.

The Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) must issue a list of the blocked websites with explanations for who blocked the site and for what reason, under which law, along with the length of the ban. No ban should be put in place without court approval and due discourse with independent entities set up to safeguard the rights of the citizens. Any ban on a site should be preceded by a prior warning sent to the webmaster, possibly including a two/three strike system. A notice of an implemented ban should be sent to the site owners and announced publicly and there should be a clearly established system for challenging the ban.

As yet, the PTA and the government have made no overtures to suggest they want to be held accountable or want to develop a system after consultation with the citizens they serve. Till they do, the ongoing and upcoming censorship of the internet in Pakistan must be fought tooth and nail.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 13th, 2012.]]>
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			<title>PTA determined to block websites with 'objectionable' content</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/347708/pta-determined-to-block-websites-with-objectionable-content</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/347708/pta-determined-to-block-websites-with-objectionable-content#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 09 Mar 12 13:13:38 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=347708</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Sources in PTA say the authority blocks websites through its licensees.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) on Friday reiterated its stance to provide a cost effective, automated and transparent system for blocking websites that promote "blasphemous and objectionable content."    

PTA, being the telecom regulator in the country, will implement policies to block websites with "blasphemous, un-Islamic, offensive, objectionable, unethical, and immoral material."

Talking to APP, official sources in PTA said, "We will also see the viability of permanently blocking the websites involved in unethical and illegal activities."

PTA's mandate is to regulate the telecommunication system in Pakistan, officials said adding that it does not regulate content transmitted directly or indirectly, nor does it control the sources of the content outside Pakistan.

The sources further said that PTA, as and when directed by government, blocks websites through its licensees.

An Inter-Ministerial Committee was constituted in 2006 to evaluate materials and requests, for blocking websites and gave recommendations to the Ministry of Information Technology for issuance of necessary directives after scrutiny, for filtering and blocking by PTA.

The Lahore High Court, in various cases, has also provided guidelines for strict action against offensive websites.

The Inter-Ministerial Committee keeps a vigilant eye on the websites and in case of any objectionable material concerning the "religious faith of any group", is bound to take prompt action.]]>
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			<title>The great (fire)wall of Pakistan</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/345378/the-great-firewall-of-pakistan</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/345378/the-great-firewall-of-pakistan#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 04 Mar 12 15:22:36 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Jahanzaib Haque]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=345378</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Blocking/banning the internet is not being done to save us from “evil” porn or blasphemous content.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[First they came for the Baloch websites, silently, without any justification. Then they banned YouTube and Facebook for weeks in the name of blasphemy. Then came the crackdown on online porn, with over 13,000 sites blocked. Then came the end of Pakistan’s access to Rollingstone.com, due to a single article criticizing Pakistan’s level of military spending.

The modus operandi is almost always the same; instructions are passed from the government, establishment or courts to the Pakistan Telecommunication authority (PTA) who then sends a notice to all internet service providers (ISPs) to block the sites. To legitimize the steps taken, directives and legislation are introduced such as the Pakistan Telecommunications (Re-organisation) Act, 1996 that criminalises vague and broad offenses, banning the dissemination of “false” or fabricated” content, or the even vaguer, “mischief.”

The ISPs do not protest, or question whether their customers’ right to information or freedom of expression is being trampled on. They do not even inform their customers that a block has been put in place, or provide a publicly available list of sites blocked along with legal grounds (if any) for blockage. All the customer gets is a single line message upon trying to access a site: this page has been blocked, by orders of the PTA – and now, we may well be getting that message for up to 50 million more sites in Pakistan.

In a bid to establish what is being termed ‘the great (fire)wall of Pakistan’, the government has floated a request calling for proposals to ensure blocking and filtering of “undesirable content” at a national level. The National  ICT Research and Development Fund has sought bids for a system that “should be able to handle a block list of up to 50 million URLs with a processing delay of not more than 1 millisecond."

The implications of such capabilities in the hands of the above institutions, given their history of abuse and lack of cognizance of citizen rights (not to mention servitude to extremist pressure groups), is terrifying. Internet in Pakistan, even with its limited penetration has been the only independent, partially free space for the exchange of information and ideas. To see that come to a quick, strangulated end by having policies and systems set up to censor huge swathes of the online space can only come from individuals/institutions that are fundamentally ignorant of the damage they are inflicting.

To best judge how skewed the priorities of those carrying out this censorship of the internet is, one only has to Google for jihadi literature and websites of anti-state/banned groups such as Hizbut Tahrir Pakistan, to see how they operate online with impunity. Needless to say, the ongoing and upcoming blockage and filtering of web content is likely not a case of good intent, flawed execution.

It is now up to the Ministry of Information Technology to prove to its citizens how exactly their censorship efforts are for the public good, and how they can be held accountable in any instance of violating local or international laws, given that the UN has declared internet access a human right.

Keeping in mind that the PTA’s attempt to ban up to 1,500 words on SMS was thwarted by the combined efforts of civil society, telcos and mass media coverage, there is hope that further blockage of the internet in Pakistan could be nipped in the bud.

At this stage, the average Pakistani must understand that this is not a “good move” to save our youth from “evil” pornography and it is not a “blessing” that will “protect” us from blasphemous content – those orchestrating online censorship are doing it to service themselves or the pressure groups acting upon them, and the impact of this will only be felt once it interferes directly in your life. Imagine the slippery slope from censoring porn and anti-establishment content to censoring your political views, blocking your blog on art, blocking your online forum such as this newspaper’s website for hosting comments deemed ‘undesirable content’. This is all just one step away.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 5th, 2012.]]>
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			<title>Diligent student compiles list of 780,000 porn sites for PTA to ban</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/344443/diligent-student-compiles-list-of-780000-porn-sites-for-pta-to-ban</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/344443/diligent-student-compiles-list-of-780000-porn-sites-for-pta-to-ban#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 02 Mar 12 09:33:21 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[web.desk]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=344443</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Fifteen-year-old works with friends to identify porn sites still accessible in Pakistan.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Who knows pornography better than a teenage boy?

In a bid to aid the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) in its ongoing efforts to block online porn in Pakistan, fifteen-year-old Ghazi Muhammad Abdullah has compiled and sent forward a list of 780,000 adult websites which he thinks should be blocked in Pakistan.

Speaking to ProPakistani, Abdullah said that he sent this list to the PTA following a letter sent to him by Director General, Law and Regulations, which stated:

“If there is any specific website that you wish to bring into the knowledge of PTA, it is requested that PTA may be informed of the same accordingly for further necessary action at our end.”

The teenager had previously written letters to the PTA, Ministry of Information Technology and Chief Justice of Pakistan to get adult websites blocked in Pakistan.

Without revealing the specific selection process for the adult sites added to the list, Abdullah told ProPakistani that he was aided by his friends whose names he wished not to share.

In an ongoing clampdown on the internet, the judiciary and PTA have taken action against porn websites by blocking or banning access to over 13,000 sites in the country.

Additionally, a government department has recently called for proposals for the development, deployment and operation of a national level URL Filtering and Blocking System.

The ad had been placed in local papers by National ICT R&amp;D Fund, a division of the Ministry of Information Technology, on February 22, 2012. The proposal request states that each box of the system “should be able to handle a block list of up to 50 million URLs with a processing delay of not more than 1 millisecond.”

&nbsp;

READ MORE ON PAKISTAN AND PORN

&nbsp;

	Smutty DVD sales go up in Pakistan as porn sites go down
	Peshawar’s open secret: Hardcore fun for a hard-line city
	Ban porn or else: Hacker penetrates PTA site
	Pakistan maintains top slot in Google search for 'sex'
	Pakistan blocks access to teen sex-ed site
	Why a ban on porn sites is futile
	Court asked to ban porn sites
	PTA approved: Over 1,000 porn sites blocked in Pakistan
	The founder of Pornistan
	Putting up pornographic pictures of schoolteachers]]>
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			<title>Blasphemy: Arrest Mark Zuckerberg, Fleming Rose, says petitioner</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/342031/blasphemy-arrest-mark-zuckerberg-fleming-rose-says-petitioner</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/342031/blasphemy-arrest-mark-zuckerberg-fleming-rose-says-petitioner#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 26 Feb 12 11:08:35 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[shamsul.islam]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=342031</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Judge orders DPO, IG Lahore to pursue case; says caricatures of prophet (pbuh) “deliberate and malicious act”.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[A case for the arrest of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Cultural Editor of Danish Newspaper Fleming Rose, for allowing ‘blasphemous’ caricatures of Prophet Mohammad (pbuh), was registered at the Kotwali Police Station in Jhang.

The case, FIR no 134/12, was registered after Advocate Muhammad Zahid Saeed, stirred by websites allegedly demeaning the Prophet (pbuh), filed a petition before the District Session Judge seeking a ban on websites including Facebook, YouTube, Google and others.

This is not the first time that a ban has been suggested or imposed on Facebook, YouTube and other sites in Pakistan. In September 2011, the Lahore High Court ordered the ministry of information technology to block access to all websites spreading religious hatred. The judge had, however, made it clear that no search engine, including Google, would be blocked.

Despite this assurance, a case was registered under Section 295-A of the Pakistan Penal Code (PCC) which deals with blasphemy.

Maintaining that the sentiments of the whole Muslim community were hurt, Saeed filed the petition under Section 22-A, 22-B of the Criminal Procedure of Code (CPC).

In his petition, Saeed said that on visiting some websites while on the internet, he and his companion found caricatures of the Prophet (pbuh) published which, he alleged, were "trying to create a war between Muslims and non-Muslims".

He added that the caricatures were a form of “international terrorism and evil profession”.

Session Judge Arshad Masood responded to the petition by saying that the “deliberate and malicious act” of displaying derogatory caricatures is a “continuing offence” and a case must be registered in Pakistan and anywhere else in the world where the sentiments of Muslims were hurt.

Masood ordered the DPO Jhang and the Inspector General of Police, Lahore, to examine the matter in light of the petition and to pass an order if any cognizable offence was found to be made.

The Kotwali police, on receiving the court order, registered the case and assigned the task of investigation to Qaisar Younus.

Younus, while talking to The Express Tribune, said that after collecting the evidence and recording the statements of the petitioner and other witnesses, he would proceed for the arrest of the accused.

The petitioner had maintained that the proceedings against the accused should be served through the Danish Ambassador and US Ambassador in Pakistan.]]>
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			<title>India won't censor social media: Telecom Minister</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/336345/india-wont-censor-social-media-telecom-minister</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/336345/india-wont-censor-social-media-telecom-minister#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 14 Feb 12 16:40:30 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[afp]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=336345</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Like print and electronic media, they have to obey the laws of the country, says minister.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[India does not intend to censor online social networks such as Facebook, a minister said Tuesday, but he demanded that they obey the same rules governing the press and other media.

"I want to say once and for all, without any obfuscation, no government in India will ever censor social media," Telecoms Minister Kapil Sibal told an IT summit in Mumbai.

"I never wanted to censor social media and no government wants to do so. But like the print and electronic media, they have to obey the laws of the country."

He held a number of meetings with leading Internet companies late last year in which he asked about the possibility of checking content before it is posted online by users.

The minister was said to have shown Internet executives examples of obscene images found on the Internet that risked offending Muslims or defaming politicians, including the boss of the ruling Congress party, Sonia Gandhi.

"The media reported I had said I wanted to pre-screen the content on social media. I have never even heard the word pre-screen," he told the summit.

Since these meetings, 19 Internet firms including Google, Yahoo! and Facebook have been targeted in criminal and civil cases lodged in lower courts, holding them responsible for content posted by users of their platforms.

The government has given its sanction for the firms to be tried for serious crimes such as fomenting religious hatred and spreading social discord -- offences that could land company directors in prison.

"All I want is that they (social media) should follow the laws of the land. Social media must not consider itself to be above that," Sibal said.

But Internet privacy groups say social media sites may not have the resources to screen obscene material that violates local laws posted on the Internet.

Local laws prohibit the sale or distribution of obscene material as well as those that can hurt religious sentiments in overwhelmingly-Hindu India.

"It is just not humanly possible to pre-censor content and Sibal knows that very well," said Rajan Gandhi, founder of a New Delhi-based advocacy group Society in Action.

Pranesh Prakash of the Bangalore-based Centre for Internet and Society said he was "glad Sibal does not believe in censorship and that companies operating in India should follow local laws."

"But on the other hand he has asked them to evolve new guidelines and actively monitor user content which is not legally sanctioned. This makes him look two-faced," Prakash added.

Google and Facebook said earlier this month they had removed the allegedly offensive content used as evidence in the court cases.

The groups have appealed to the Delhi High Court asking for the cases against them to be quashed on the basis they cannot be held responsible for their clients' actions.

The comments of a judge hearing the case raised further fears that freedom of expression online could be restricted.

"You must have a stringent check. Otherwise, like in China, we may pass orders banning all such websites," the judge said at the January hearing.

Facebook is banned in China and Google moved its operations out of the country in 2010 in protest at censorship laws there.

The debate about social networks mirrors a larger national dialogue about freedom of speech in the world's biggest democracy following recent protests by religious groups.

Indian-origin writer Salman Rushdie was prevented from speaking at a literature festival in Jaipur last month after Muslim groups protested against his presence over his allegedly blasphemous 1988 novel "The Satanic Verses."

A group led by author and journalist Nilanjana Roy organised public readings of banned literary works on Monday to protest against what it said were recent curbs on intellectual freedom.

The initiative, called "Flashreads for free speech", was widely advertised on social networks including Twitter and Facebook.]]>
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			<title>Why a ban on porn sites is futile</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/335423/why-a-ban-on-porn-sites-is-futile</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/335423/why-a-ban-on-porn-sites-is-futile#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 12 Feb 12 16:56:57 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Jahanzaib Haque]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=335423</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[It speaks of a nation moving backwards; immature and proud of it. It is a dangerous state to be in.]]>
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				<![CDATA[There are three big problems with banning and blocking pornographic websites in Pakistan, ranging from the most basic — it does not work — to the more troubling ‘saying yes to banning porn is saying yes to state oppression’, to the most deeply worrying ‘our national identity seems to be one of a imbecile out to harm himself’.

Let’s address the most basic problem first. The reason why a ban on porn can never work is because of a simple economic principle — where there is demand, there will be supply, and the demand is going nowhere. Those who want to see porn online will do so. Their options are unlimited. For every 13,000 porn sites the Pakistan government blocks, there are over 327 million other pages to browse as porn accounts for 12 per cent of all online visits and 35 per cent of all downloads worldwide. If the PTA somehow convinced our local ISPs to block all 327 million pages of porn, the filtering system would strangle all internet in Pakistan, not to mention, by the time such action was taken, there would probably be a million new porn sites out there. Let’s also not forget that proxy servers (sites that change your IP to different locations) make all 13,000 blocked sites available. How easy is it to use a proxy? About a single Google search or browser extension away, rendering the whole blocking exercise (not to mention its cost) redundant. It is unfortunate that our esteemed judiciary and government servants are so technologically challenged that they probably cannot understand this basic problem even if it is written for them on paper.

Next is the more troubling ‘saying yes to banning porn is saying yes to state oppression’. Banning porn is a slippery slope to say the least. This government is already known to block websites in the name of such open ended phrases as ‘national interest’ so do we really want to give them allowance to censor us further with the (mis)use of the words ‘obscenity’ and ‘pornography’? Who gets to define what is obscene and what is pornography? Is Titian’s Venus of Urbino pornography? And if so, should we block Wikipedia and ban all import of Encarta Encyclopedia CDs, as that is where I first saw this masterpiece at age 14? What is obscene? Is Sex and the City obscene? It may be to our rabid mullah folk, and since they have the upper hand in this country devastated by politicized religion, can we expect a ban on YouTube in any number of very real dystopian future scenarios? Most certainly, such oppression is just a step away from banning porn.

This brings us to the most worrying and saddening aspect of the decision to block porn — that of the floundering, decaying, most pathetic creature that has become our national identity. What does this attempt to ban and block porn say about us? Does it suggest that we are stupid and ignorant? Does it suggest that we are infantile, delusional and very naïve; given that we do not even see that the issue is not the availability of porn online, but the demand that exists for it? Yes, it does. Does it suggest that we are unabashedly willing to stab ourselves in the foot again and again?

It seems that way, given that we have not learnt anything about how our government and courts may ban anything unannounced, indefinitely, from Baloch news sites to Rolling Stone magazine to SMSs about finger food and athletes foot. This to me is the most tragic aspect of the ongoing ban and blockage of porn: the fact that is speaks of a nation that is moving backwards; immature and proud of it to boot. It is a dangerous state to be in, and one any sane person should fight against.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 13th, 2012.]]>
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			<title>Government blocks 13,000 obscene websites: Official</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/334055/government-blocks-13000-obscene-websites-official</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/334055/government-blocks-13000-obscene-websites-official#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 09 Feb 12 17:06:41 +0500</pubDate>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=334055</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Khan proposes formation of a Ministerial Committee and a sub-committee to look into the matter.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[Parliamentary Secretary for Information Technology, Nawab Liaqat Ali Khan informed the National Assembly on Thursday that the government had blocked 13,000 obscene websites on the internet.

Recently, the judiciary and Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) took action against porn websites by blocking or banning access to them in the country, following multiple petitions filed by the citizenry.

"It is a serious issue and we are trying to address it," said the IT parliamentary secretary, while replying to a Calling Attention Notice, adding that the government was mindful of the situation.

Hence when asked about what steps were being taken to block such websites, Khan said that these websites were operating from outside and so action could not be taken against them nor could they be penalized.

However he maintained that the government is utilising all available resources to counter this challenge.

Khan also proposed the formation of a Ministerial Committee and a sub-committee to look into the matter. Expressing concern over the rapid increase in obscene websites, he said, “At present the government has no mechanism to block all of these websites and are trying to devise a mechanism, however, we take action on complaints.”

He quoted the example of China and India who have installed a costly Automated Filtration System, which could also block anti-government websites, but clarified that that this system, if installed, would still be unable to block all such websites.]]>
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			<title>Twitter to restrict user content in some countries</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/327939/twitter-to-restrict-user-content-in-some-countries</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/327939/twitter-to-restrict-user-content-in-some-countries#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 27 Jan 12 06:29:51 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[reuters]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=327939</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Twitter said it has built a mechanism to inform users in the event that a tweet is being blocked.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[Twitter announced Thursday that it would begin restricting tweets in specific countries, renewing questions about how the social media platform will handle issues of free speech as it rapidly expands its global user base.

Until now, Twitter had to remove a tweet from its global network if it received a takedown request from a government. But the company said in a blog post published Thursday that it now has the ability to selectively block a tweet from appearing to users in one country.

"Starting today, we give ourselves the ability to reactively withhold content from users in a specific country while keeping it available in the rest of the world," the Twitter blog said.

Twitter gave as examples of restrictions it might cooperate with, such as "pro-Nazi content" in France and Germany, where it is banned.

It said even with the possibility of such restrictions, Twitter would not be able to coexist with some countries. "Some differ so much from our ideas that we will not be able to exist there," it said.

"As we continue to grow internationally, we will enter countries that have different ideas about the contours of freedom of expression," Twitter wrote.

In the interest of transparency, Twitter said, it has built a mechanism to inform users in the event that a tweet is being blocked.

A Twitter spokeswoman declined to elaborate on the blog.

Twitter's acknowledgement that it will censor content represents a significant departure from its tone just one year ago, when anti-government protesters in Tunisia, Egypt and other Arab countries coordinated mass demonstrations on the social network and, in the process, thrust Twitter's disruptive potential into the global spotlight.

As the revolutions brewed last January, Twitter signaled that it would take a hands-off approach to censoring content in a blog post entitled "The tweets Must Flow."

"We do not remove tweets on the basis of their content," the blog post read. "Our position on freedom of expression carries with it a mandate to protect our users' right to speak freely and preserve their ability to contest having their private information revealed."

And last year, Twitter General Counsel Alex Macgillivray declared that the company was "from the free speech wing of the free speech party."

Still, some open Internet advocates said it appeared Twitter did the best it could to navigate the dueling responsibilities of complying with local law and upholding free speech.

Twitter would be banned outright in many countries if it did not agree to restrict tweets, said Cynthia Wong of the Center for Technology &amp; Democracy.

"The question is: What's best for freedom of speech?" Wong said. "If Twitter was completely blocked from certain countries, is that really better? It looks like Twitter has done a good job in thinking through how to mitigate the human rights harm in complying with local law."

Twitter's move highlighted the frequent tensions over freedom of speech and privacy issues between foreign governments and Internet companies such as Google and Facebook as they expand rapidly overseas.

In 2010 Google relocated its Web search engine to Hong Kong, following a very public spat with the Chinese government over its refusal to bow to Beijing's Web censorship requirements and a hacking episode that Google said it had traced to China.]]>
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			<title>Internet access: Not possible to block offensive content, say Google, Facebook</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/322371/internet-access-not-possible-to-block-offensive-content-say-google-facebook</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/322371/internet-access-not-possible-to-block-offensive-content-say-google-facebook#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 16 Jan 12 15:10:12 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=322371</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Google, facebook say implementing bans, would inadvertently block other non-offensive content.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[Internet giants Google and Facebook told an Indian court on Monday that it is not possible to block offensive content that appears on their websites, in a case that has stoked fears about censorship in the world's largest democracy.    

Google and Facebook are among 21 companies that have been asked to develop a mechanism to block objectionable material, after a private petitioner took the websites to court over images deemed offensive to Hindus, Muslims and Christians.

At the heart of the dispute is a law passed last year in the country that makes companies responsible for user content posted on their websites, requiring them to take it down within 36 hours in case of a complaint.

The case was originally filed in a lower court, but the companies have appealed to the Delhi High Court, challenging the lower court's ruling asking them to take down some content.

"The search engine only takes you till the website. What happens after that is beyond a search engine's control," Neeraj Kishan Kaul, a lawyer for Google's Indian unit, told a packed High Court hearing on Monday.

"If you use blocks, which is very easy for people to say, you will inadvertently block other things as well. For example: the word 'sex'. Even a government document like a voter ID list or a passport has the word 'sex'," he added.

Siddharth Luthra, a lawyer for Facebook told the court it was not possible for the social network to "single out" any individual on the basis of religion or views and said the users should be held responsible for content they post.

Less than a tenth of India's 1.2 billion population have access to Internet although its 100-odd million users make it the third biggest Internet market after China and the United States. Internet users in India are seen nearly tripling to 300 million over the next three years.

Despite the new rules to block offensive content, India's Internet access is still largely free unlike the tight controls in neighbouring China.

Civil rights groups have opposed the new laws. But politicians say that posting offensive images in the socially conservative country with a history of violence between religious groups presents a danger to the public as Internet use grows.

The high court will resume hearing the case on Thursday, Justice Suresh Kait said. The judge was last week quoted by local media warning the websites of China-style controls if they did not create a means to curb material seen as offensive.]]>
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			<title>The futility of censorship</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/321958/the-futility-of-censorship</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/321958/the-futility-of-censorship#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 15 Jan 12 19:20:33 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[editorial]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=321958</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Once the authorities decide they have the power to censor the internet they always go too far.]]>
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				<![CDATA[When considering what level of freedom a country wants, government bodies may want to avoid emulating China. Yet that is exactly what the Delhi High Court, which seems to take its role as a censor as seriously as the high court in its brother city Lahore, has done, saying, “You must have a stringent check. Otherwise, like in China, we may pass orders banning all such websites.” The websites in question refer to Facebook and Google, two websites that have also been under threat in Pakistan for their apparently dangerous belief that information should be freely shared. The Delhi High Court made this case for internet censorship on the grounds that the websites need to screen all images to make sure there is nothing religiously insensitive or that fake nude pictures of politicians are not uploaded.

The danger of online censorship being practiced in the largest democracy in the world is even more acute because the Indian government has also thrown its weight behind this case, all in the name of inter-religious harmony. For a country that touts itself as a hospitable environment for technology companies to operate in, this would be a profoundly self-defeating move. Google saw no compunction in pulling out of China, one of the largest markets in the world, when authorities there tried to censor its search results. India cannot afford to do the same. A law passed last year by the Indian parliament holds companies responsible for content uploaded to sites by users. Given that it is nearly impossible for sites to monitor everything, this law needs to be repealed.

As we have seen in Pakistan, once the authorities decide they have the power to censor the internet they always go too far. And the way the internet is structured and works, such bans simply do not work. Petitions that call for the wholesale censorship of the internet need to summarily for precisely this reason: giving governments so much power always leads to abuse of that power.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 16th, 2012.]]>
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			<title>Court asked to ban porn sites</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/319908/petitioner-moves-lhc-to-block-porn</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/319908/petitioner-moves-lhc-to-block-porn#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 11 Jan 12 15:45:20 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[express]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=319908</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Petitioner asks LHC to direct IG Punjab to register cases against ISPs violating the law.]]>
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				<![CDATA[A petition was filed in Lahore High Court on Wednesday seeking ban on pornographic sites and cancellation of licences of internet service providers failing to block these.

Petitioner Kashif Waseem submitted through his counsel, Fahad Ahmad Siddiqi, that the easy availability of obscene material online was one of the reasons behind violence against women. Siddiqi submitted that the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) had issued a list of 170,000, websites to the Internet Service Providers Association of Pakistan, Wateen Telecom, WorldCall Telecom Limited, LINKdotNET, Wi-Tribe Wireless Broadband Internet Service, Broadband Internet Service Provider, Qubee Pakistan, Mobilink Infinity, COMSATS Internet services, and Pakistan Software Houses Association for IT directing them to stop providing access to porn sites.

He said none of these companies had complied with the PTA and Pemra directions. He requested the court to cancel their licences and direct the IGP to register criminal cases against the respondents.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 12th, 2012.]]>
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			<title>Tribune’s Gamechangers 2011: Zombie_Ksa and the Pakistan Cyber Army</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/317551/tribune%e2%80%99s-gamechangers-2011-zombie_ksa-and-the-pakistan-cyber-army</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/317551/tribune%e2%80%99s-gamechangers-2011-zombie_ksa-and-the-pakistan-cyber-army#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 08 Jan 12 10:14:11 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[express]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=317551</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Cyber wars and the battle to block porn.]]>
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				<![CDATA[The war front has a new, uncharted battleground – the internet.

This year saw a sharp increase in cyber warfare between India and Pakistan, with tit for tat defacing and hacking of government and public websites on both sides of the border. The Pakistan Cyber Army, a loose conglomerate of Pakistani hackers has led this battle, which some term childish even as other cheer on.

Teach India a lesson has not been the only battle cry however. Lone hacker Zombie_Ksa (Jawad Ehsan alias Hamza - the founder of PAKBugs, a group of hackers) proved to be a game changer by systematically hacking the Pakistan Supreme Court website and the PTA website, demanding the blockage of pornographic sites in Pakistan. Later in the year the PTA sent a notification to ISPs calling for the blockage of over 1,000 porn sites.

Quote of the year: “Baby I’m here to tell this **** world that we are Pakistan, not Pornistan…” – Zombie_KSA]]>
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			<title>Smutty DVD sales go up as porn sites go down</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/318155/smutty-dvd-sales-go-up-as-porn-sites-go-down</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/318155/smutty-dvd-sales-go-up-as-porn-sites-go-down#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 08 Jan 12 06:18:41 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[saad.hasan]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=318155</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Rainbow Centre sees a reversal of fortunes following regulatory body ban.]]>
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				<![CDATA[A ban on pornographic websites in Pakistan by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) in November 2011 has led to a surge in the sale of CDs and DVDs of this particular type of entertainment in Karachi.


The market reaping the profits is Rainbow Centre in Saddar, which was once a hub for pirated CDs and DVDs. But the proliferation of similar shops elsewhere in the city, raids at the market and the availability of pirated content online forced many stores to shut down. At least 300 of the 500 shops switched to selling garments and computer accessories instead.

The ban on porn websites has changed that. Dealers at the centre say they have been seeing sales grow since November.

“People no longer come here for Hollywood or Bollywood movies. They want porn,” said Afaq, who refused to share his full name. “If you ask me, almost 90% of our revenue comes from the sale of such content.”

The PTA asked eight Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to restrict access to a thousand of the most frequented porn websites. The last ISP to comply finished blocking websites last month.

The irony is that the Rainbow Centre dealers download content from the internet as well, said another shopkeeper. “It doesn’t matter if a few websites are blocked. We can still access many more.” Torrents, which are used to download movies, software and other electronic data from millions of personal computers around the world, are used for pornographic content, the dealers said.

But not everyone has the time, internet speed or patience to download entire films. “Young men are impatient. They wouldn’t wait hours to download a movie. They want to watch it instantly or more conveniently buy all that from us in DVDs,” the shopkeeper explained.

“I would be lying if I said our members don’t download and sell porn in the market,” says Saleem Memon of the Rainbow Video Merchants Association. “They do, and all attempts to stop that have failed. As for the government’s move to ban the websites, it doesn’t matter. People will find a way around all restrictions.”

Memon also claimed that a great deal of pornographic content is downloaded at bank branches, which shut their doors for people at 5 pm.

While Rainbow Centre is enjoying a reversal of fortunes, ISPs are facing unhappy customers. The chief marketing officer at Qubee, Hashim Sheikh, said some large ISPs took time to implement the PTA decision, which could have potentially resulted in customers switching services.

“In recent weeks, many of our normally happy customers have walked into our sales centres and said they do not want the service anymore. Now you can guess what the reason could be.”

The convener of ISPAK, an association of internet providers, Wahajus Siraj, said large ISPs will have to take stricter measures to enforce the ban. “Otherwise our customers will switch to where the websites can be viewed.”

The websites are hosted in different countries and people running them are finding ways to override the ban continuously, he said.

Despite the ban, people are still curious to know if the PTA has implemented it. Kashif Azeem, the administrator of the apnabroadband portal, which is frequented by people seeking information on different ISPs, says a post related to ban on pornographic websites has received the most hits.

“So many queries are coming in. People want to know if there is any ISP which has not blocked the websites,” he said. “Everyone seems to be in favour of the ban, even if they are searching ‘how to access porn sites’.”

The Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), which has 85 per cent of the ISP market, says it has faced an uphill task in blocking websites.

PTCL corporate development executive Sikandar Naqi says blocked websites have been popping up with different IPs. “People do not realise how much money in terms of human resources we are spending on ensuring that these websites remain inaccessible.”

While ISPs do not share customer data, a senior official confirmed that over 30% of all traffic from the country at any given time is directed to porn websites.

The PTA also knows its limitations. There is no law backing its decision to block the websites, and ‘there are 20 million such websites on the internet’, one enforcement executive said.

“China has deputed 30,000 employees to monitor internet users. We cannot afford that. We don’t even have the systems. It is impossible to block all the websites anyway.”

Published in The Express Tribune, January 8th, 2012. ]]>
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			<title>US calls on Twitter to ban accounts spreading militant propaganda</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/312549/us-calls-on-twitter-to-ban-accounts-spreading-militant-propaganda</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/312549/us-calls-on-twitter-to-ban-accounts-spreading-militant-propaganda#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 26 Dec 11 20:34:23 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[express]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=312549</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Move part of a wider attempt to limit space accorded to militant organisations on the internet, social media.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[The US has called on the social micro-blogging site, Twitter, to clamp down on accounts which post propaganda content from the Taliban, the Telegraph reported on Sunday.

The Senate committee on Homeland Security, headed by senator Joe Lieberman, claim the move is part of a wider campaign to limit the space accorded to violent extremists propaganda on the internet and Social Media.

The Taliban had embraced social media posting regular updates on attacks, official statements from their leaders, and propaganda. They also upload videos of militant training, sermons by prominent members Taliban. It is believed they also use the sites to scour for new recruits.

Some of the accounts used include @ABalkhi, which has more than 4,100 followers. Another is @alemarahweb, which has more than 6,200 followers. Both claim to be official websites of the "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan".

Twitter however declined to offer a reaction on the story. Rachel Bremer, a spokesman for Twitter, said: "This isn't something we'd comment on."

In 2008, Lieberman had Google revisit its hosting policies to limit accounts belonging to the Taliban and the al Qaeda.

Leslie Phillips, a spokesman for the senate homeland security committee, said: "Senator Lieberman's efforts to eliminate violent extremism propaganda from the internet and social media has been a campaign of persuasion."

Earlier this month, US Vice President Joe Biden had said that the Taliban per se were not enemies of US. Suggesting the Taliban only represented an inherent threat if it allowed al Qaeda to strike against the US, the Vice President said, “That’s critical. There is not a single statement that the president has ever made in any of our policy assertions that the Taliban is our enemy because it threatens US interests.”

While talking to The Express Tribune, Taliban spokesperson, Zabiullah Mehsud explained the use of Twitter by the Taliban, “We trained our mujahideen in the use of (modern) media at scattered places in Afghanistan," adding they were not against modernity.

(Read: From medieval Taliban to a tech-savvy militia)]]>
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			<title>Facebook ban, PTI trolls steal the limelight at internet report launch</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/306226/facebook-ban-pti-trolls-steal-the-limelight-at-internet-report-launch</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/306226/facebook-ban-pti-trolls-steal-the-limelight-at-internet-report-launch#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 14 Dec 11 03:10:14 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Atika.rehman]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=306226</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[German PhD candidate focuses on political potential of new information technologies.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The role social media and the internet are playing in Pakistan is undeniable. More and more young Pakistanis are joining Twitter and Facebook and participating in heated debates online - but should these discussions be monitored and controlled?

These concerns were tossed back and forth between journalists, bloggers and activists at the launch of the report “New Media vs Old Politics”, a 69-page research project undertaken by Marcus Michaelsen, a PhD candidate at the University of Erfurt (Germany).

The report, launched by a German political foundation, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, which has been working in Pakistan for more than 20 years, is the first exploratory research on the use of the internet, social media and the subsequent process of democratisation in Pakistan.

The general secretary of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), Dr Arif Alvi, was among the commentators at the launch. Highlighting his party’s role in using social media tools to connect with people, he said: “I used to attend party meetings with my laptop in hand, and was ridiculed for being disconnected from people at the grassroots level.”

The internet also allows the PTI to campaign for “peanuts”, which is also more effective than traditional politicking with rallies and street campaigns.

As Dr Alvi’s brief concluded, a participant levelled criticism at PTI “trolls” or people who post inflammatory comments online. He said that some “low IQ” online visitors on PTI forums frequently post abusive remarks which defeat the party’s ideology. Dr Alvi replied that these spaces are monitored, and that he once personally deleted derogatory remarks about a TV anchor at her behest.

Other participants noted that while abuse and trolling is common online, web forums are important platforms for discussion and debate, something that was not possible earlier.

Also raised was the two-week Facebook court ban in response to public outrage over a competition on the social networking site that encouraged people to post drawings of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). President of the Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA), Jehan Ara, was critical of censorship and highlighted the need for legislation.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 14th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>India to ban 'offensive' Internet material</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/302994/india-to-ban-offensive-internet-material</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/302994/india-to-ban-offensive-internet-material#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 06 Dec 11 14:24:02 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[afp]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=302994</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Decision comes after Facebook, Google and other major firms say they are unable to screen content before it is posted.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[India on Tuesday vowed to ban offensive material from the Internet after Facebook, Google and other major firms told the government they were unable to screen content before it was posted.

Communications Minister Kapil Sibal said talks with the Internet giants had failed to come up with a solution following complaints that he had lodged three months ago over "unacceptable" images.

"My aim is that insulting material never gets uploaded," Sibal told reporters in New Delhi. "We will evolve guidelines and mechanisms to deal with the issue.

"They will have to give us the data, where these images are being uploaded and who is doing it."

Sibal said the government supported free speech and was against censorship but that some material on the Internet was so offensive that no one would find it acceptable.

He said he had shown some of the worst images to the Internet companies, who had said they could not control all distribution.

"Three months back we saw that Google, Yahoo!, Facebook had images which could be an insult to Indians, especially religious-minded people," Sibal said.

"We told them to find a way that such insulting images are not uploaded. We gave them some time... but there was no response."

Sibal said the firms had shown that their "intention was not to cooperate" and that they had explained they were only "platforms" on which people could display material.

"I feel that this in principle was not correct but it is very clear that we will not allow such insults to happen. We are thinking and will take the next step," he said. "We will not allow our cultural ethos to be hurt."

Facebook, which has 25 million users in India, released a statement saying it "recognised the government's interest in minimising the amount of abusive content" online and would continue to communicate over the issue.

Google confirmed Monday's meeting with Sibal but made no further comment, while Yahoo! and Microsoft were not immediately available.

Sibal showed some of the offending material to journalists, including fake images of naked politicians and religious figures.

He added that "sometimes when asked for data in respect to terrorists... there is hesitation (by Internet companies) to provide that data."

The Hindustan Times on Tuesday said the Internet companies had rejected Sibal's appeal for screening, saying a huge volume of information was uploaded on to the Internet and that they were not responsible for judging its content.

The paper added that Sibal had earlier complained about a site that targeted Sonia Gandhi, the influential president of the ruling Congress party.

Congress spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi said the government was only acting "in respect of absolutely illegal, defamatory, pornographic or other similar kind of material".

BlackBerry maker RIM has been embroiled in a similar wrangle with India over access to encrypted email and instant message services that the government says could be used by extremists to plot attacks.

India has more than 110 million Internet users out of a population of 1.2 billion, according to latest research, with the figure likely to jump to 600 million in the next five years.

Sibal's call for Internet screening quickly attracted a storm of criticism on Twitter, with many users expressing anger over any attempt to restrict usage.]]>
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			<title>Ban on porn websites</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/297546/ban-on-porn-websites</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/297546/ban-on-porn-websites#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 25 Nov 11 17:28:47 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[letter.]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=297546</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[I was somewhat disappointed to read Mr Yawar Hilaly’s letter in your newspaper of November 24.]]>
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				<![CDATA[I was somewhat disappointed to read Mr Yawar Hilaly’s letter in your newspaper of November 24, which was in response to an earlier letter of mine on the subject of banning pornographic websites. While criticising my comment on the importance of preserving the morality of Pakistan’s middle class, Mr Hilaly seems to have missed the crux of my argument.
Pornography is the dark side of the internet and 85 per cent of all traffic on the worldwide web is related to porn websites. It is the responsibility of every government to ensure that its citizens and their families are protected from this filth. Countries like Singapore and the UAE have specialised filtering systems that refuse access to adult websites and this is done without compromising browsing or downloading speed. We need to follow these examples rather than blindly following the West.
Aamir Allawala
Published in The Express Tribune, November 26th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Blocking of porn websites  (III)</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/294081/blocking-of-porn-websites-iii</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/294081/blocking-of-porn-websites-iii#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 18 Nov 11 18:58:04 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[letter.]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=294081</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The PTA has basically obeyed the orders of the hacker who sabotaged its website.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[This ban should be placed in context. It has happened after the PTA’s own website was hacked and a message posted on it demanding that pornographic websites be blocked. In that sense, all that the Authority has done is to basically obey the orders of the hacker who sabotaged its website. This is absolutely insane. We are already a country teetering on the brink of absolute destruction. The last thing we need is for our internet to be monitored stringently by an organisation like the PTA.
HB
Published in The Express Tribune, November 19th,  2011.]]>
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			<title>Blocking of porn websites  (II)</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/294080/blocking-of-porn-websites-ii</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/294080/blocking-of-porn-websites-ii#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 18 Nov 11 18:56:18 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[letter.]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=294080</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[When did I give PTA the authority to decide for me what I can and can’t view on the internet?]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[When did I give PTA the authority to decide for me what I can and can’t view on the internet? If this has been done, it sets a very bad precedent and the next target could easily be the suppression of political dissent. That is the only purpose such filtration systems serve in the Middle East under the guise of moral policing.
MJ
Published in The Express Tribune, November 19th,  2011.]]>
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			<title>Blocking of porn websites</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/294079/blocking-of-porn-websites</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/294079/blocking-of-porn-websites#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 18 Nov 11 18:55:40 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[letter.]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=294079</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[At the risk of being labelled a pervert, may I ask what is the harm if an adult watches porn in his own home?]]>
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				<![CDATA[This is with reference to your report of November 17 titled “PTA approved: Over 1,000 porn sites blocked in Pakistan”. Surely the government and its telecom regulator, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, have better things to do than to block porn websites. Don’t we have other pressing issues to deal with? Also, will they blocks the hundreds of millions of websites that are found all over the internet? Will that not slow down the speed of browsing because the filters will slow down speeds? How is that going to help anyone? Why is this country and its government so prone to banning things? Haven’t we heard of programmes like Netsurf and Net Nanny?
And, at the risk of being labelled a pervert, may I ask what is the harm if an adult watches porn in the safety of his own home? How does that hurt anyone?
A reader
Published in The Express Tribune, November 19th,  2011.]]>
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			<title>PTA approved: Over 1,000 porn sites blocked in Pakistan</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/293434/pta-approved-over-1000-porn-sites-blocked-in-pakistan</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/293434/pta-approved-over-1000-porn-sites-blocked-in-pakistan#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 17 Nov 11 15:58:27 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Jahanzaib Haque]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=293434</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[PTA provides list of 1,000 most frequented porn sites that are to be blocked. 170,000 others face blockage.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Over 1,000 pornographic websites are in the process of being blocked by internet service providers (ISP), following directives issued by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA). 

While by no means a blanket ban given the vast amount of sites containing explicit content online, an official in a local ISP has confirmed that the PTA has provided a list of 1,000 most frequented porn sites in Pakistan that are to be blocked.

"They are adding to the list on a daily basis" confirmed the source.

The Express Tribune has received a list of over 170,000 websites the PTA purportedly may ban in Pakistan, however, an official from a local ISP provider states that such a blanket ban is unlikely.

"Blocking 170,000 sites is not feasible for any operator. The screening time on a per request basis will essentially slow the internet down to make it unusable."

Websites currently blocked by ISPs redirect users to a page with a message that reads: "This page is blocked due to restrictions enforced by the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA)."

Earlier this year, a hacker had managed to bypass security on the Supreme Court's website, posting a message that called on the PTA to ban pornographic websites or face further online attacks. A similar attack was carried out on the PTA's own website.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 18th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Political principles</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/79781/political-principles</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/79781/political-principles#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 21 Nov 10 17:32:47 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[editorial]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Editorial]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=79781</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Seeking a ban on websites used by millions does not offer an acceptable solution.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The petition put before the LHC by PML-Q MPA and son of party chief Pervaiz Elahi, Moonis Elahi, seeking a permanent ban on Google Blogger as it contained ‘hate’ material against him, offers us a telling insight into the minds of our political leaders. They need a reminder that around the world lives in the public sphere, notably as a politician, leave individuals open to all kinds of attack. Seeking a ban on websites used by millions does not offer an acceptable solution. Highly offensive material against US President Barack Obama can be found on many websites. He has not sought their closure.

The reply to the court by the director for telecom that links on sites can be blocked but that ‘globally useful’ websites cannot be shut off entirely is a sensible one. However, even closing down certain links amounts to a form of censorship. The internet offers an entirely free flow of information; this is its strength. Tools allow parents to prevent children from accessing unsuitable material. Beyond the childhood years, it is questionable if such material should be censored. Net users can decide which sites they choose to view. In this respect, the precedent set in the past by authorities is unfortunate. The temporary banning, a few months ago, of websites that included Facebook and YouTube served no useful purpose. The continued denial of access to many Baloch nationalist websites by the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority is even more disturbing.

Mr Moonis Elahi, who in his petition has also sought that the owners of the website be asked to remove the material he objects to, should also keep in mind that in some cases certain actions lead to strong, perhaps inappropriate, reactions. He must attempt to assess if this is true in any way, and if it is, to reconsider conduct, assess why various actions surface and consider remedies that focus on himself rather than a demand that hugely popular websites be banned.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 22nd, 2010.]]>
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			<title>‘Useful websites cannot be blocked’</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/77960/%e2%80%98useful-websites-cannot-be-blocked%e2%80%99</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/77960/%e2%80%98useful-websites-cannot-be-blocked%e2%80%99#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 16 Nov 10 03:39:12 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[rana.tanveer]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Punjab]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=77960</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[PML-Q MPA seeking a permanent ban on access to Google Blogger for displaying what he called hate material against him.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Telecom (wireless) director, Mudassar Hussain, told the Lahore High Court (LHC) that a globally useful website cannot be blocked completely for containing objectionable material against Moonis Elahi. However, he said, the link to the material can be deleted from the website.

Hussain said this in a written reply filed in the court of Chief Justice Khawaja Muhammad Sharif in response to a writ petition of Pakistan Mulsim League-Quaid-i-Azam (PML-Q) MPA Moonis Elahi seeking a permanent ban on access to Google Blogger for displaying what he called hate material against him.

Hussain said, “As part of government policy and in view of the valuable utility of major global websites, these sites cannot be blocked, only objectionable links can be blocked.”

He said this policy had also been endorsed by the Lahore High Court in a recent order calling for the blocking of Facebook, a popular social networking website, for containing blasphemous material.

Blocking of useful sites like Google, Hotmail and Yahoo, he said, was not in order as it went against the spirit of earlier decisions of the Lahore High Court as well as the federal cabinet.

He said that an inter-ministerial committee had been formed by the prime minister to evaluate and restrict offensive content on websites. He said this committee was an effective administrative forum for bringing cases related to websites. Hussain suggested that the petitioner should approach the committee to get a remedy and the court should dispose of the petition.

The chief justice, however, adjourned hearing till Tuesday as Deputy Attorney General Tanvir Hashmi sought time to go through the report and to file his submissions on the matter.

Moonis Elahi had prayed through his counsel Javed Iqbal Raja that the authorities be directed to block access to Google Blogger in Pakistan and the owner of this website be directed to respect and honour international conventions on individuals’ rights.

Elahi also requested the court to direct the owners of the website to immediately remove the ‘hate material’ against him for the sake of his honour.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 16th, 2010.]]>
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			<title>Putting up pornographic pictures of schoolteachers</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/73064/putting-up-pornographic-pictures-of-schoolteachers</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/73064/putting-up-pornographic-pictures-of-schoolteachers#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 06 Nov 10 03:19:33 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[express]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Punjab]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=73064</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Teachers accuse DTE of forging their pictures and releasing them on the web.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[According to teachers at the Government high secondary school for girls in Kundian, an administration worker forged and distributed vulgar pictures of dozens of students on the internet and then accessed their personal details to blackmail them.

According to a staff member at the school, the person responsible was the trainer of female teachers at the school who had been deployed by the Kundian Education Department cluster. “He was conducting training workshops for teachers and also had access to all of their record files on our computer in the administration office,” the staff member said.

Education department officials have started an inquiry on a written application submitted by the Anjuman Tahafuz Huqooq Shehrian and traders and others organizations in Kundian. According to the affected students and teachers, Fateh Muhammad had been appointed as a directorate of technical education (DTE) and was in charge of training teachers at the school.  The education department has provided computers and other facilities in the cluster centre and also appointed two DTEs a woman and a man to deal with teacher training before the next semester. DTE Muhammad tampered with the administration records and photos of the teachers on duty and pasted obscene pictures of them on the internet. “He called all of us individually, because he got our phone numbers from the records,” said one of the teachers Nadia. “He began to black mail us after telling us to look at the website he had posted,” she said.

The pornographic website allegedly showcases the entire female staff of the girls school. “We have called in an IT expert and he said that it was very easy to doctor and tamper with photographs,” said a school administrator.

The eleven affected teachers have filed charges against the DTE and elicited the support of local traders and organisations in the district to have him arrested. “He is the only one who could have done this because he has access to all our records and sits in the admin room,” said one of the teachers, adding that Muhammad had called all of them up and threatened them. “He asked all of us to meet him and threatened that if we didn’t he would print out the website pictures and humiliate us,” said school teacher Sadia. Members of the Anjuman Tahafuz Huqooq Shehrian and traders and others organizations of Kundian submitted an application to the education department stating “The Daska DTE is challenging the honour of the residents of this area and we are prepared to die for the honour of our mothers and sisters.”

Fateh Muhammad has said that he did not upload any site and that the staff at the college was hatching an elaborate conspiracy against him. “This is an attempt to malign my reputation and have me fired,” he said, adding that he was being targeted because he was a strict teacher and did not tolerate any excuses from the female staff regarding absences.

Teachers at the school have stated that they will pursue the matter with the police.

Names have been changed to protect identity

Published in The Express Tribune, November 6th, 2010.]]>
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			<title>Pakistan’s porn conspiracy</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/71484/pakistan%e2%80%99s-porn-conspiracy</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/71484/pakistan%e2%80%99s-porn-conspiracy#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 02 Nov 10 18:40:22 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Jahanzaib Haque]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=71484</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[A conspi­racy is afoot framin­g locals as having an avid intere­st in ‘live sexy webcam chat’ and more.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[It seems the morality of the state of Pakistan has come under an ongoing attack by the global media who has taken the fight to expose our hypocrisy to undefendable online territory.

First, there was the Fox News report on Pakistan ranking number one in the world for ‘sexy web searches’. Our land of the pure was dubbed ‘Pornistan’ and subjected to ridicule based on Google Trends and Insights, identifying us as having a peculiarly high level of interest for racy terms, which included a particular interest in horses. Of course, this report was completely bogus, the numbers were played with, it was a conspiracy to which Google diplomatically responded that “the results for a given query, such as those reported in this story from Pakistan, may contain inaccuracies because the sample size is too small for the results to be statistically sound” (key word, ‘may’).

But this is just scratching at the surface — there are other such plots being nurtured online which have yet to be launched for mass consumption in the global media. Take for instance Alexa, which collates hard data on which websites are being browsed by internet users from various geographical locations.

A quick glance at the top 100 visited websites in Pakistan, (updated on a daily basis and extrapolated over a period of time) reveals — horror of horrors — that a total of nine websites hosting adult content, ranging from ‘live sexy webcam chat’ to ‘desi delights’, are frequently visited by users in our motherland. To add insult to injury, two of the aforementioned sites rank in the top 50, beating out the likes of Songs.pk, The Pirate Bay, Pak Wheels and Wordpress. Porn, Alexa would (mis)inform us, trumps music, cars, illegally downloaded software/films and blogs for parts of our local audience.

To give you a layman’s estimate of the number of visitors, we are looking at hundreds of thousands of our local online population flocking to these listed sites daily. Bear in mind that this is just the pool Alexa is analysing. Adding up the number of ‘sexy’ websites in Pakistan's top 500 list, and additional users that have either gotten waylaid, are not registered in Alexa or are masked, and we may have a fairly significant slice of our online populace browsing porn (Pakistan Telecommunication Authority cites an estimated 20 million online users in Pakistan).

This is indeed a terrifying revelation for the land of the pure. Even though we all know such data is lies, damned lies, perhaps a statistical anomaly and an obvious conspiracy against Pakistan, could such data not be used by our enemies to falsely build the case that we are after all, not so pure, not so moral and, most of all, not so different from the rest of the world?

I fear it is only a matter of time before this latest online conspiracy is hatched against us in the western media. A lowly media flunky wasting time checking out his/her blog stats on Alexa will chance upon Pakistan’s penchant for porn, write up a 500 word report on the scandal and send it off to Fox News. We must act before it's too late. Alexa is but one among many sites pulling such data together to bring Pakistan down. It is now the duty of the perverts among us to uphold the name of our fair country by finding the best IP address masking software and uninstall all Alexa-related software to hide our online trail. For the true patriots, it is recommended that IPs be falsely registered as emerging from India. Deny everything and blame our neighbour. Only then may we be truly safe and untainted.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 3rd, 2010.]]>
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			<title>Facebook apps giving user ID data to advertisers</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/64680/facebook-apps-giving-user-id-data-to-advertisers</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/64680/facebook-apps-giving-user-id-data-to-advertisers#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 19 Oct 10 10:41:21 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[afp]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Life &amp; Style]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=64680</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Facebook confirms that some popular third-party applications are violating the social network's rules.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Facebook on Monday confirmed that some popular third-party applications are violating the social network's rules and transmitting identifying information about users to advertising and Internet tracking companies. 

"In most cases, developers did not intend to pass this information, but did so because of the technical details of how browsers work," Facebook engineer Mike Vernal said in a blog post.

"We are talking with our key partners and the broader Web community about possible solutions."

Vernal argued that press reports had exaggerated the implications of the situation and that getting user identification (UID) information did not provide access to private data without express permission.

"Nevertheless, we are committed to ensuring that even the inadvertent passing of UIDs is prevented and all applications are in compliance with our policy," Vernal said.

"We take strong measures to enforce this policy, including suspending and disabling applications that violate it."

The blog post came amid a flood of news stories triggered by a Wall Street Journal report that its investigation had found that the issue affects tens of millions of Facebook application users, including people who set their profiles to be completely private.

The practice breaks Facebook's rules and renews questions about its ability to keep secure identifiable information about the activities of its members.

"Our policy is very clear about protecting user data, ensuring that no one can access private user information without explicit user consent," Vernal said.

"Further, developers cannot disclose user information to ad networks and data brokers."

The Journal said applications were providing access to Facebook members' names and, in some cases, their friends' names, to companies that build detailed databases on people in order to track them online.

All of the 10 most popular applications on Facebook were transmitting unique user ID numbers to outside companies, it said. They include Zynga's FarmVille, with 59 million users, Texas HoldEm Poker and FrontierVille.

The Journal said several applications became unavailable to Facebook users after the newspaper informed the Palo Alto, California-based social network that they were transmitting personal information.

"We have taken immediate action to disable all applications that violate our terms," a Facebook spokesman said.

Facebook told the Journal it is taking steps to "dramatically limit" the exposure of users' personal information.

"Our technical systems have always been complemented by strong policy enforcement, and we will continue to rely on both to keep people in control of their information," a Facebook official said.

The Journal said the applications it reviewed were sending Facebook ID numbers to at least 25 advertising and data firms, several of which build profiles of Internet users by tracking their online activities.

Facebook specifically prohibits applications makers from transferring data about users to outside advertising and data companies, even if a user agrees.

Facebook is the world's most popular social network with around 500 million users, but it has been dogged by complaints about privacy protection.

Randi Zuckerberg, the sister of co-founder Mark Zuckerberg, told reporters at a forum in Dubai on Sunday that privacy was the company's top concern and it would continue to give people more controls.]]>
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			<title>'Moral' search engines squeeze out sin</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/52411/moral-search-engines-squeeze-out-sin</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/52411/moral-search-engines-squeeze-out-sin#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 20 Sep 10 13:26:14 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[afp]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
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				<![CDATA[New Internet search engines created by Christian, Jewish or Muslim entities present a different web for their users.]]>
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				<![CDATA[A number of new Internet search engines created by Christian, Jewish or Muslim entities aim to filter out queries from Web users in a way that is more relevant to those users and keeps them from temptation, alcohol and pornography.

"We think that the other search engines are way too 'main street' oriented. We wanted to provide a solution to explore the Web in a safe environment, where you won't bump into explicit content or immoral websites, like pornography," said Reza Sardeha, the Amsterdam-based founder of the Muslim-oriented search engine I'mHalal.

If one types the world alcohol into imhalal.com, the search engine produces results that explain the Muslim viewpoint on drinking. Type in "pornography," and the search engine produces nothing.

The 21-year-old Kuwaiti says the site attracts users from places like Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates as well as the United States.

"Actually we know that our users are not only Muslims, and once a week we get an email from non-Muslims as well saying that they like the content of our safe search engine and they allow their children to search knowing they won't bump into offensive content."

For Christians, SeekFind offers "a research tool for people who are looking for biblical and theological content from an evangelical Christian prospective," says founder Shea Houdmann, who operates from Colorado Springs, Colorado.

According to the seekfind.org website, the search engine functions by "only indexing websites that are Biblically-based, theologically-sound, and in agreement with our statement of faith.”

"That way, you can have confidence that you will find content which will be God-honoring and spiritually encouraging," it says.

For the Jewish community, the niche is filled by another engine called Jewogle, which bears a passing resemblance to Google.

Michael Gartenberg, partner at technology research firm Altimer Group, told National Public Radio that some of these niche groups are bringing more users to the Internet.

"You have an emerging generation and emerging culture that wants to take advantage of technology... search engines and the things that they provide but at the same point, be true to their heritage... and not stray from their belief system," he says.]]>
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			<title>Online privacy: The inescapable web</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/50315/online-privacy-the-inescapable-web</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/50315/online-privacy-the-inescapable-web#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 19 Sep 10 10:36:15 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[hamna.zubair]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Life &amp; Style]]></category><category><![CDATA[Gossip]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=50315</guid>
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				<![CDATA[A young banker got a nasty shock when she opened a mass email to discover it contained pictures of her at a party.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Madeeha*, a 26-year-old banker, got a nasty shock when she clicked on a mass email to discover it contained pictures of her and her friends at a party. 

“Somebody managed to get their hands on private photographs and decided to circulate them,” said Madeeha. The photographs, which included snapshots from a friend’s vacation abroad, had also been posted on YouTube. “The video was eventually removed from YouTube,” says Madeeha. “But the damage had been done. I don’t know who else saw those pictures; they were only meant for close friends.”

Madeeha’s experience caused her to become much more cautious about her privacy online. Her apprehension mirrors concerns that a growing number of people are experiencing about the security of data they choose to post on social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter or MySpace, or on blogs.

Of the 50 young professionals questioned by The Express Tribune about their perceptions of security on the internet, 76 per cent said they were less willing to share personal information on sites like Facebook as compared to when they first joined the network. The lesson that many people have learnt the hard way is that personal information, once posted online, is almost impossible to guard.

Although alarm at the privacy policies of giants like Facebook has yet to cause a furore in Pakistan, the issue has received a significant amount of attention in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe. As US-based law professor Jeffrey Rosen wrote in his piece “The Web Means the End of Forgetting” in The New York Times, “The fact that the internet never seems to forget is threatening, at an almost existential level, our ability to control our identities; to preserve the option of reinventing ourselves and starting anew; to overcome out chequered pasts.”

The dicey issue of distancing yourself from past mistakes made online, whether the errors in judgment occurred in the form of an angry comment on a YouTube video or an embarrassing photograph on Facebook, is often raised in relation to one’s relationship with an employer.

Our survey revealed that 79 per cent of respondents routinely ran web searches of prospective employers, employees, dates, co-workers or friends.

A similar trend in Germany recently led legislators to approve a draft law which prohibits employers from using social networks to check up on potential employees. Of course, commentators have stressed that it will be extremely difficult to prove that a company has gathered information about an employee from a social networking site — but in theory, anyone found flouting the law could be fined up to $381,000.

According to human resources manager Leon Menezes, the laxity of privacy laws in Pakistan means few checks on the extent to which an organisation could go to dig up dirt on an employee. Menezes said he found it surprising that people were so indiscreet on the web despite this obvious loophole in internet security.

“People need to be careful about what they say online,” said Menezes. He could not comment on whether investigating employees online was common practice in Pakistan, but said he thought it would be a good idea.

Citing the presence of a code of conduct in most large organisations, Menezes said that an employer would be within his or her rights to take action against an employee who was found to be contradicting the company’s policies online.

HR consultant Saira Ahsan Khwaja admitted she hadn’t heard of a case in Pakistan where a company took action against an employee for material he or she posted online, but did say she thought people carefully monitored their activities online to limit any negative fallout.

“People are sensitive to this possibility, so they do take precautions,” she said.

Frequent Facebook-ers  couldn’t agree more. Amna*, a research assistant, boasts of stringently limiting people’s access to her Facebook profile. “I have one list for close friends and separate settings for people I meet through work,” she says.

Even so, life isn’t perfect. Amna recently flew into a panic when someone tagged a photograph of hers that had not been intended to be made public. “I kept trying to untag myself but because of some technical glitch, the photo stayed on my profile for a whole 10 minutes,” she said. “I don’t know who saw it.”

Whether people choose to ferociously guard their online privacy out of vanity (“I look fat in that picture, please don’t tag me!”), to circumvent nosy employers (“I don’t want my boss to know I went to the beach yesterday even though I called in sick at work”) or to protect their image in the public eye (case in point: Bilawal Bhutto’s leaked college party pictures), they all face the same dilemna: they are trying to police a domain which is governed by very few rules and laws.

For that reason, perhaps, 76 per cent of those who were asked whether they thought information they had shared on the internet could be used against them at some point in time said ‘Yes’.

Of course, some people do remain unmoved. Ahmad, a student, recently discovered that his photograph was being used by someone else as a profile picture. But he couldn’t care less, and didn’t report the user.

“What’s the worst that could happen?” asked Ahmad.

“It’s only the internet.”

Published in The Express Tribune, September 19th, 2010.]]>
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