Twitter faces shutdown in Pakistan

The Pakistan Telecom Authority (PTA) has warned micro blogging platform Twitter that it could be banned in the country if it fails to comply with a notice to block objectionable content.
On August 15, PTA informed the Senate Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat that other social media platforms including Facebook and Youtube have already acceded to the Pakistan government’s requests to block objectionable content, while Twitter has not.
Director General of PTA’s Internet Policy and Web Analysis, Nisar Ahmed said in the meeting, “Out of a hundred requests from Pakistan to block certain offensive material, roughly five per cent are entertained. Twitter ignored all the remaining requests.”
The Senate Committee was informed about the Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) mandate to issue Twitter with a final notice, asking it to respond to requests from Pakistan or risk being blocked. The committee was also informed that IHC had taken notice of the growing instances of objectionable content being posted on social networking platforms.
Nisar further added, “The PTA has conveyed the court’s concern to Twitter, but has not got a response. The regulatory authority will implement court orders if Twitter does not respond to the final notice.”
The meeting was held mainly to discuss actions recommended by PTA against the alleged derogatory content being spread through social media, which the PTA says targets the state and institutions as well as the citizens of Pakistan.
There are several instances in the past when social networking sites were banned in Pakistan. Facebook was banned twice in the country, first in 2008 then again in 2010. In September 2012, access to YouTube was also blocked in the country for about two years.
Source: The Express Tribune