STAFF REPORT LHR: The ban on YouTube may be lifted in Pakistanis in near future as the newly installed government has declared it as one of its top priorities to restore YouTube with proper filtration of blasphemous and pornographic contenand through assertive talks with Google.
Pakistan had banned YouTube on September 17, 2012 after the site hosted clips from a sacrilegious film deemed blasphemous by Muslims across the world. The film, Innocence of Muslims triggered massive street protests in Pakistan Egypt, Libya and many other countries.
Minister of State for IT and Telecommunication Anusha Rahman has said the government will go all out to ensure that a proper filtration system is in place to allow re-start of YouTube in the country.
“We will pump in extra money if needed and do whatever is in our capacity to bring YouTube back to Pakistan without compromising our ethical values,” said the minister.
She will also request Google, the parent company of YouTube, to remove the objectionable material from the website or at least its access in Pakistan is blocked.
In the past, Pakistan and several other governments had asked Google to remove the blasphemous video from the website but Google has been denying the requests. Instead it blocked the access of blasphemous videos in various countries, including Egypt, Libya, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and India, however, it didnt block the videos in Pakistan.