YouTube ban
Government can devise a mechanism under which the pages on which the blasphemous film is found are blocked.
KARACHI:
The ban on the very popular website YouTube continues in Pakistan. My question is that for how long will this remain? Surely, given the fact that millions of Pakistanis use this website daily, there should be some timeframe given by either the government or the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority which is the industry regulator and the agency enforcing the ban. I ask this because many businesses and individuals use it to make a living and also because it is used for recreational and educational purposes. Of course, what the government can do is to devise a mechanism under which the pages on which the blasphemous film is found are blocked for users in Pakistan. Or, the government, through the relevant ministry, can enter into a formal multilateral legal treaty with Google, which owns YouTube, so that the company, by its own rules and regulations, can take off offensive web pages for users in Pakistan.
The ban on the very popular website YouTube continues in Pakistan. My question is that for how long will this remain? Surely, given the fact that millions of Pakistanis use this website daily, there should be some timeframe given by either the government or the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority which is the industry regulator and the agency enforcing the ban. I ask this because many businesses and individuals use it to make a living and also because it is used for recreational and educational purposes. Of course, what the government can do is to devise a mechanism under which the pages on which the blasphemous film is found are blocked for users in Pakistan. Or, the government, through the relevant ministry, can enter into a formal multilateral legal treaty with Google, which owns YouTube, so that the company, by its own rules and regulations, can take off offensive web pages for users in Pakistan.
Omar A Khan
Published in The Express Tribune, October 1st, 2012.