PTA issues clarification on YouTube ban press release

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) issued a clarification on Friday, stating that a press release circulating on social media regarding a ban on YouTube is outdated and dates back to 2012. The PTA urged the public to disregard the misleading information.

In a statement, the telecom regulator explained that the press release, which resurfaced online, was creating confusion about YouTube's current operational status in Pakistan. "It has come to the attention of PTA that an old press release about the shutdown of YouTube in Pakistan, originally issued in September 2012 following Supreme Court orders, is being recirculated," the statement read.

The original ban was enforced by then-Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf in response to protests over the controversial film Innocence of Muslims. However, the PTA confirmed that the 2012 press release is no longer relevant.

"PTA clarifies that the content being circulated is outdated and irrelevant to the current circumstances," the authority stated. "At present, no instructions have been issued by PTA to block or shut down YouTube or any other social media platform."

The PTA also advised the public to verify such information through official channels, including its website and verified social media handles.

In related news, India recently blocked over two dozen Pakistani YouTube channels for allegedly spreading "provocative" content following an attack in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu Kashmir (IIOJK).

Channels of prominent Pakistani news outlets such as Express, Dawn, Samaa TV, ARY News, Bol News, and Geo News were affected, along with the social media accounts of various Pakistani personalities, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and athletes like Shahid Afridi and Babar Azam.

The blocked channels in India displayed a message citing an “order from the government related to national security or public order.”