LHC turns down request to temporarily reopen video-sharing site. PHOTO: FILE
While turning down a request to temporarily reopen YouTube on Thursday, the Lahore High Court ordered the Ministry of Information Technology to tell the court, on July 25, how it could block access to specific URLs.
The video-sharing website has been blocked in Pakistan since September 2012 following protests about a 14-minute trailer of the film Innocence of Muslims.
The then prime minister Raja Pervez Ashraf ordered the ban after YouTube refused to remove the movie from the website at the Pakistani government’s request.
Bytes For All, an NGO, moved the court in January seeking lifting of the ban.
On Thursday, the petitioner’s counsel told the court that instead of blocking access to the entire website, only the objectionable material could be blocked.
The Ministry, however, expressed its inability to do so.
Justice Mansoor Ali Shah remarked that he was not an expert on the matter and asked the Ministry to form a committee and invite suggestions from the public on how to block access to specific material.
The petition describes the ban as ‘counterproductive’ and one that deprives Pakistanis of the right to access information as well as the right to counter any propaganda against the country.
Taking away access to YouTube, says the petition, is the modern-day equivalent of “taking away the scholar’s pen”.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 5th, 2013.
COMMENTS (23)
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If they unblock the YouTube they might find a solution on it. Heheheh
You can watch YouTube movies in Pakistan there are many ways of doing it. Our censors are not smart enough to find the ways.
GIVE ME THE CONTRACT! I WILL DO IT FOR YOU.
@Maila: They blocked spcific websites not specific links in a website which are treated differently technically.
Just ask any LUMS undergrad and he will block the offensive film. Even te judge is illiterate.
When there is a will, there is a way.
Why do we need to block "specific" link on YouTube anyway? If we find certain material objectionable and blasphemous, we won't watch it. Our blocking or unblocking the blasphemous material will not affect the rest of the world, which is have open access to those videos.
I just don't get it.
May be NS can seek Chinese expertise on this while he is in Beijing.
Why is the Land of the Pure intimidated by a low budget movie about Islam but apparently isn't concerned that it has the most Google searches for homosexual pornography? If you really want to protect yourselves from the rest of the World - toss your computers, smart phones, satellites, close your borders and remain "pure" - suspect the rest of the World will feel safer.
Seems like PMLN is still using the IT policy from 1999
And the YOUTUBE FARCE continues in Pakistan!!! The court and the government must be totally incapable of seeing (or don't want to acknowledge???) what many OTHER Muslim countries have already accomplished by setting up local YouTube hubs for the irrespective countries!
Please just buy a .pk domain from google. and pakistan will have its own youtube and in that manner it can filter what videos to show or what not
get yourself youtube.com.pk DOMAIN . its very simple not rocket science.
U Tube is blocked in Pakistan since September, 2012 depriving knowledge hunters and students from getting knowledge and observing latest events. However, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah will be astonished to hear that U Tube was never out of approach of U Tube Lovers. The U Tube users have alternative methods to visit this site. It is a simple joke to say that U Tube is banned in Pakistan. However, in a petition Justice Mansoor Ali Shah showed his disability to deal with the technical aspects of blocking a specific site and directed the information ministry to solve the issue. The ministry expresses his inability to put ban on a specific site. I am really shocked to hear all this matter and has come to a conclusion that Government Departments have become so much corrupt and carless about issues that, they make fool of everybody even of High Court and this is observed in our daily life. Similarly the Ministry of Information and Technology has dodged the Honorable Justice Mansoor Ali Shah. In this country every department needs overhauling. At the end, I will request the Honorable Justice that instead of making a useless and unserviceable committee the same task should be assigned to me and I will give solution to this problem forever.
Aasia Sohail
Not surprised by their lack of skills. Most government offices are filled with incapable safaarshi types. Its very bad that just because they can't block single URLs- they chose to block a whole DOMAIN which millions of people rely on every day.
Enough torture, I think I'll move to a relatively moderate country instead of this mess :/
"...invite suggestions from the public on how to block access to specific material." How can we forward the suggestion to block specific URL's? With that said, I'm against the Internet censorship but the partial banning is much better than complete banning of YouTube. So, I'd forward my suggestions if I knew where to forward them.
AMAZING .... Even the court accepted this silly claim. My advise is simple. Ask any undergrad at LUMS and he will do the job in ten minutes.
@Maila They have blocked complete domains for porn websites, that is exactly what has been done to youtube.
I think the Govt should ban internet access, mobile phones, television channels (except PTV), radio stations, books, movies etc. Just to ensure the people don't come across anything "objectionable"...
Ask Turkish Govt how to block specific URLs; they do it so well. This is not rocket science, just an excuse....YouTube ban should be lifted ASAP. Its our loss, not theirs....
They blocked porn websites of specific URLs didn't they?
If you don't know how, just ask other countries. There is more then one country that knows how to do that. Some of them might be willing to assist. Its worth trying.