Internet Censorship in Pakistan - YouTube

YouTube

YouTube was blocked in Pakistan following a decision taken by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority on 22 February 2008 because of the number of "non-Islamic objectionable videos." One report specifically named Fitna, a controversial Dutch film, as the basis for the block. Pakistan, an Islamic republic, ordered its ISPs to block access to YouTube "for containing blasphemous web content/movies." The action effectively blocked YouTube access worldwide for several hours on 24 February. Defaming Muhammad under ยง 295-C of the Blasphemy law in Pakistan requires a death sentence. This followed increasing unrest in Pakistan by over the reprinting of the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons which depict satirical criticism of Islam. Router misconfiguration by one Pakistani ISP on 24 February 2008 effectively blocked YouTube access worldwide for several hours. On 26 February 2008, the ban was lifted after the website had removed the objectionable content from its servers at the request of the government.

On 20 May 2010, on Everybody Draw Mohammed Day Pakistan again blocked the website in a bid to contain "blasphemous" material. The ban was lifted on 27 May 2010, after the website removed the objectionable content from its servers at the request of the government. However, individual videos deemed offensive to Muslims that are posted on YouTube will continue to be blocked.

On 17 September 2012, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) ordered access to YouTube blocked, after the website did not remove the trailer of Sam Bacile's Innocence of Muslims, a film insulting Islam and eventually resulting in a ban due to YouTube's non compliance.

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