The Lahore High Court has directed Pakistani authorities to block access to all websites, including Facebook, that are involved in "spreading religious hatred" and to submit a compliance report by October 6.In an order issued on Monday, Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed directed the Information Technology Ministry to "deny access to all websites in Pakistan involved in spreading religious hatred".
Pakistan, which was into the news last year for blocking Facebook over a “Draw Mohammad Day” competition, is seeking to ban the social network again due to the second round of the same competition.
Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed, presiding over the Lahore High Court, ordered the Ministry of Information and Technology to block access to Facebook nationwide on the charge of “spreading religious hatred on the Internet”. The court also directed the ministry to police the Internet and block all other websites that were found guilty of the same charge, but it spared search engines like Google
the judge directed the ministry that access to Google or other search engines should not be denied.He directed the authorities to submit a report on the implementation of the court s order by October 6. The offensive group was titled “2nd Annual Draw Muhammad Day – May 20, 2011” and has since been removed by Facebook. However, it does not seem like that action is going to have any effect on the ban. Of course, freedom of speech campaigners form only a tiny part of Facebook
Of course, freedom of speech campaigners form only a tiny part of Facebook; the banning of the site can have a significant impact on the life of Pakistan’s citizens who depend on it to keep in touch with their family and friends, and Pakistani developers of apps for the platform.
The high court has not specified any date for the lifting of the ban, so it remains to be seen when, and if, the people of Pakistan will be able to use Facebook again.
No comments:
Post a Comment