The Supreme Court has taken notice of ‘objectionable content’ on social media and has hinted at banning YouTube. The top court was riffled by unfiltered criticism against the judiciary and want to ban the entire platform rather than taking action against content creators.
The constitution grants freedom of speech and expression but still comes with strings attached and strongly prohibits criticism of the military and judiciary. New media evades the state-controlled restrictions and provide unhindered access to anyone. This has irked the authorities as it has been unable to regulate social media or take action against the transnational tech giants.
Pakistan has a history of internet censorship which pushed the tech industry many years back. In 2010, Facebook was banned over a sacrilegious competition as protests emerged. In the most famous case, YouTube was banned in 2012 over an anti-Islamic film that even on for three years. This is cited as one the main reason that Pakistan was regarded as a repressive state and the local tech sector declined.
There are nearly a million websites blocked in Pakistan mostly for vulgar and offensive, but these policies are also used to suppress dissent and criticism of the government. Pakistan is among the list of countries that consistently and intermitting censor the internet and block social media apps. In the past weeks, the PTA has banned Bigo, online game PUBG and has issued a final warning to TikTok.
Due to the self-censorship in newsrooms and editorial policies, many journalists have moved to social media which is the new frontier for journalism. YouTube has laws against promoting hate speech and offensive material but this does not include criticism of the government or state institutions. Pakistan is becoming an increasingly authoritarian state with such policies.
Social media has become a source of livelihood for many people. This includes young content creators who have built a recognition, travel vloggers, women running cooking shows, makeup tutorial to earn from home, and students who are learning online. Many companies also spend large on advertising on these platforms and a blanket ban on social media would wipe their entire livelihoods.
We need to end the culture of banning itself; instead, we should find the root cause and taken action. Banning YouTube for an objectionable video is liking burning library for a controversial book. This is never the solution and should not be considered for policymaking.
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