PTA bans Wikipedia in Pakistan over ‘sacrilegious content’. Wikipedia has been blocked in Pakistan by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) for failing to “block/remove sacrilegious information” within the allotted 48 hours, a spokesperson stated on Saturday.
Wikipedia is a free, open-source, editable online encyclopaedia that millions of people use as a starting point for basic information. Because Wikipedia had not complied with orders to remove content that was controversial from the website, the PTA had on Wednesday downgraded Wikipedia services across the country.
Wikipedia was approached for blocking/removal of the said contents by issuing a notice under applicable law & court order(s). An opportunity of hearing was also provided, however, the platform neither complied by removing the blasphemous content nor appeared before the Authority. pic.twitter.com/6dWRcbxHGB
— PTA (@PTAofficialpk) February 1, 2023
“The decision can be reviewed once Wikipedia removes sacrilegious content that has been identified by the regulatory authority,” the spokesperson added.
Users are met with “this site cannot be reached” when trying to access the website.
The message one sees when going to Wikipedia.The regulator claimed that neither the website had complied with its requirements nor removed the problematic content.
PTA spokesperson Malahat Obaid told media sources that the main reason for the ban’s imposition was failure to follow the orders.
Yesterday, the Wikimedia Foundation, the charity that runs Wikipedia, said it “does not make decisions around what content is included on Wikipedia or how that content is maintained”.
It added that this is “by design to ensure that articles are the result of many people coming together to determine what information should be presented on the site, resulting in richer, more neutral articles”.
“We believe that access to knowledge is a human right. A block of Wikipedia in Pakistan denies the fifth most populous nation in the world access to the largest free knowledge repository. If it continues, it will also deprive everyone access to Pakistan’s history and culture,” it said.
It goes on to say: “We hope that the Pakistan government joins with the Wikimedia Foundation in a commitment to knowledge as a human right and restores access to Wikipedia and Wikimedia projects promptly, so that the people of Pakistan can continue to receive and share knowledge with the world.”
PTA bans Wikipedia in Pakistan over ‘sacrilegious content’. In a statement earlier this week, the telecom regulator said it had approached Wikipedia to block or remove the content in question by issuing a notice under “applicable law and court order(s)”.
“An opportunity of hearing was also provided, however, the platform neither complied by removing the blasphemous content nor appeared before the authority,” the statement had said.
“Given the intentional failure on part of the platform to comply with the directions of PTA, the services of Wikipedia have been degraded for 48 hours with the direction to block/remove the reported content,” the statement added
The regulator warned that in case of non-compliance, Wikipedia would be blocked in the country and its restoration would be “reconsidered subjecting to blocking/removal of the reported unlawful content”.
Analysts and campaigners criticised the PTA’s decision to “degrade” service to the site. Usama Khilji, a digital rights activist and columnist, said courts and the regulator must realise that Wikipedia is a “crowd-sourced platform where anyone with an account can edit articles, which they can also do instead of blocking the entire website”.
Wikipedia, World’s largest encyclopaedia, appears to be blocked in Pakistan by @PTAofficialpk
Courts & regulator must realise that Wikipedia is a crowd-sourced platform where anyone with an account can edit articles, which they can also do instead of blocking the entire website pic.twitter.com/wIEZzGktio
— Usama Khilji (@UsamaKhilji) February 3, 2023
The authority has already taken note of objectionable content on the platform. The PTA has also sent warnings to Google Inc. and Wikipedia in December 2020 for “disseminating sacrilegious content.”
From 2012 to 2016, YouTube was restricted in Pakistan. The country has also frequently restricted the hugely popular video-sharing app TikTok in recent years due to its “indecent” and “immoral” content.
