In a first, Twitter blocks 'blasphemous' tweets in Pakistan
NYT report states a PTA official asked Twitter to block accounts and tweets he considered blasphemous or unethical.
NYT report states a PTA official asked Twitter to block accounts and tweets he considered as blasphemous or unethical. PHOTO: AFP/FILE
The online social-networking and microblogging site, Twitter, has honoured five requests brought forward by Abdul Batin, an official of Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), to block 'blasphemous content' in Pakistan, a New York Times report stated.
Batin had asked Twitter to block accounts, tweets or searches that he considered as blasphemous or unethical in the month of May.
Twitter complied with these five requests, meaning that this content can no longer be seen in Pakistan.
The requests called for the blocking of drawings of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), photographs of burning copies of the Holy Quran and messages from a handful of anti-Islam bloggers as well as the entire account of American porn stars including one who now attends Duke University.
The NYT report also mentioned that it is the first time Twitter has agreed to block content in Pakistan.
The blocking of these tweets in Pakistan is in line with Twitter’s country-specific censorship policy uncovered in 2012. Twitter said it will post a censorship notice whenever a tweet is removed and will post the removal requests it receives from governments, companies and individuals on the watchdog website chillingeffects.org.
It must be noted, that in May 2012 Twitter was banned in Pakistan for a day due to a drawing competition.
Batin had asked Twitter to block accounts, tweets or searches that he considered as blasphemous or unethical in the month of May.
Twitter complied with these five requests, meaning that this content can no longer be seen in Pakistan.
The requests called for the blocking of drawings of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), photographs of burning copies of the Holy Quran and messages from a handful of anti-Islam bloggers as well as the entire account of American porn stars including one who now attends Duke University.
The NYT report also mentioned that it is the first time Twitter has agreed to block content in Pakistan.
The blocking of these tweets in Pakistan is in line with Twitter’s country-specific censorship policy uncovered in 2012. Twitter said it will post a censorship notice whenever a tweet is removed and will post the removal requests it receives from governments, companies and individuals on the watchdog website chillingeffects.org.
It must be noted, that in May 2012 Twitter was banned in Pakistan for a day due to a drawing competition.