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{{Short description|none}}
{{Unreferenced|date=June 2007}}
{{Main|Internet in Pakistan}}
{{Censorship}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2022}}
{{Use Pakistani English|date=October 2020}}
]
{{internet}}


'''Internet censorship in Pakistan''' is due to the governments attempts to control information sent and received using social media and the ] in Pakistan. Presently, as of December 2024, ], despite the government using the platform to issue official statements.
The ] censors all ] by means of ] all connections through a central ] which is administered by the . Furthermore Pakistani ]s are also under orders to block certain websites on their own routers. A common victim by major ISPs in Pakistan was the weblogs hosted at ] (The blanket ban on the blogspot.com blogs is lifted), amongst other important ].


There have been significant instances of website access restriction in Pakistan, most notably when ] was ] from 2012 to 2016. Pakistan has asked a number of social media organisations to set up local offices within the country, but this is yet to happen.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://hindustantimes.com/world-news/google-facebook-and-twitter-threaten-to-leave-pakistan-over-new-rules/story-LIBChHJbeR9Vjy2CYJs9dJ_amp.html|title= Google, Facebook and Twitter threaten to leave Pakistan over new rules|website=Hindustan times|date= 21 November 2020}}</ref>
==History and law==
The ] some years back established the Pakistan Internet Exchange (PIE), as a means to monitor all incoming and outgoing ] traffic from ]. The primary purpose of PIE is to filter content as the government deems fit. A secondary purpose is to keep track of all incoming and outgoing e-mail, which by ] order are kept for a period of at least three months.


] made global headlines in 2010 for blocking ] and other Web sites in response to ] popularized on the social networking site to draw images of the prophet ]. In general, ] in Pakistan remains both inconsistent and intermittent, with filtering primarily targeted at content deemed to be a threat to ], ], ] and at religious content considered ]. However, the present banning of ] is politically motivated.
The Pakistan Telecommunication Company (PTCL) announced in April, 2003 that it would be stepping up censorship of ] ]s. "]" and "]" sites were also censored. In early March 2004, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) ordered ]s (ISPs) to block access to all pornographic content. The ISPs, however, displayed absence of technical know-how, and advocated that the PTCL would be better fit to carry out FIA's requirement. A Malaysian firm was then hired to provide a filtering system.


In 2019, the National Assembly Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecom was informed by ] (PTA) that 900,000 URLs were blocked in Pakistan for "reasons such as carrying blasphemous and pornographic content and/or sentiments against the state, judiciary or the armed forces." In February 2023, ] was banned by the PTA for two days over alleged ] content.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/7/wikipedia-ban-in-pakistan-over-alleged-blasphemous-content-lifted | title=Misplaced Pages ban in Pakistan over alleged blasphemous content lifted }}</ref>
Currently, there is no established law as to which websites the government ], or when. In the past, mainly pornographic and anti-establishment political websites have been blocked. Once in a while, western news sites have also been blocked, though these blocks were usually short-lived.


== Overview ==
==Supreme Court directive==
The ] on ], ] directed the ] to block internet sites displaying the Muhammad cartoons and called for an explanation from authorities as to why these sites had not been blocked earlier. A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhary, summoned the country's Attorney General as well as senior communication ministry officials on March 13 to give a report of "concrete measures for implementation of the court's order".


In mid-2012 Pakistanis had relatively easy access to a wide range of content, including most sexual, political, social, and religious sites on the Internet. The ] listed ] in ] as substantial in the conflict/security area, and as selective in the political, social, and Internet tools areas in August 2012.<ref name=ONI-Pakistan> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110521195435/http://opennet.net/research/profiles/pakistan |date=21 May 2011 }}, OpenNet Initiative, 6 August 2012. Retrieved 16 November 2013.</ref> Additionally, ] rated Pakistan's "Freedom on the Net Status" as "Not Free" in its ''Freedom on the Net 2022'' report.<ref name="freedom2013"> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180704063520/https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-net/2013/pakistan |date=4 July 2018 }}, ''Freedom on the Net 2013'', ], 23 January 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2022.</ref> This is still true as of 2022.<ref name="freedom2015"> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190424161650/https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-net/2015/pakistan |date=24 April 2019 }}, ''Freedom on the Net 2015'', ], Retrieved 8 July 2016.</ref>
On ], ], in pursuant to a ] filed by Dr. Mohammed Imram Uppal under Article 184(3) of the ], the Supreme Court sitting ''en banc'' ordered the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) and other government departments to adopt measures for blocking websites showing blasphemous content. The Court also ordered Attorney General Makhdoom Ali Kahn to explore laws which would enable blocking objectionable websites. In announcing his decision, ] Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, said, "We will not accept any excuse or technical objection on this issue because it relates to the sentiments of the entire ] world. All authorities concerned will have to appear in the Court on the next hearing with reports of concrete measures taken to implement our order," which was scheduled on ], ].


Internet filtering in Pakistan is regulated by the ] (PTA) and the ] (FIA) under the direction of the government, the ], and the ] (MoIT). Although the majority of filtering in Pakistan is intermittent—such as the occasional block on a major Web site like ] or ]—the PTA continues to block sites containing content it considers to be blasphemous, anti-Islamic, or threatening to internal security. Online civil society activism that began in order to protect free expression in the country continues to expand as citizens utilize new media to disseminate information and organize.<ref name=ONI-Pakistan/>
Consequently, the government blocked a number of websites hosting the cartoons deemed to be sacrilegious. This ban included all the ]s hosted at the popular ]ging service ], as some bloggers had put up copies of the cartoons &ndash; particularly many non-Pakistani blogs.


Pakistan has blocked access to websites critical of the government or the military.<ref name=ONI-Pakistan/> Blocking of websites is often carried out under the rubric of restricting access to "blasphemous" content, pornography, or religious immorality.<ref name="freedom2012"/> At the end of 2011, the PTA had officially banned more than 1,000 ] websites in Pakistan.<ref name="freedom2012"> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171022033454/https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-net/2012/pakistan |date=22 October 2017 }} report by ]</ref><ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130707094542/http://tribune.com.pk/story/293434/pta-approved-over-1000-porn-sites-blocked-in-pakistan/ |date=7 July 2013 }} The Express Tribune, 18 November 2011</ref>
On the hearing on ], ], the PTA informed the Supreme Court that all websites displaying the ] cartoons have been blocked. The bench issued directions to Attorney General of Pakistan Makhdoom Ali Khan to assist the court on Monday on how it could exercise jurisdiction to prevent the availability of blasphemous material on websites the world over.


== Current situation: 2024 political censorship of Twitter ==
The blanket ban on the blogspot.com blogs was lifted on ], ] . Shortly thereafter the blanket ban was reimposed, and extended to ] blogs.The blanket ban on the blogspot.com blogs is lifted again. Pakistan also blocked Baloch ] websites.
{{See also|Allegations of rigging in the 2024 Pakistani general election}}
], formerly known as Twitter, has remained inaccessible in Pakistan since February 2024, depriving citizens of their basic right to access information. The Pakistan government blocked access to the social media platform around the time of the ], citing national security concerns. Despite the government's stance, both the government and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) refused to comment on the outages, which were widely reported by internet watchdog groups.


Activists challenging the ban argue that it was designed to suppress dissent following the February 8 general elections, which were marred by widespread claims of vote rigging and subsequent protests. Authorities had also shut down mobile services on the day of the elections, again citing security concerns. NetBlocks, an internet monitoring group, reported that users were unable to access X on 10 February while the country was awaiting the election results.<ref name=":7">{{Cite web |title=Pakistan says it blocked social media platform X over ‘national security’ |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/17/pakistan-says-it-blocked-social-media-platform-x-over-national-security |access-date=2024-05-15 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref>
==How Internet is censored==
The government of Pakistan currently has a simplistic ] based filtering procedure in place, and since all websites hosted on ] resolve to the same ], they all have been blocked now blogspot is unblocked in all over Pakistan.


In April 2024, the ] ordered the government to restore access to the platform within one week, according to a report by the ], citing lawyer Moiz Jaaferi, who had launched a separate challenge against the ban.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sindh High Court orders unblocking of social media platform X in Pakistan |url=https://www.canadianlawyermag.com/news/international/sindh-high-court-orders-unblocking-of-social-media-platform-x-in-pakistan/384116 |access-date=2024-05-15 |website=www.canadianlawyermag.com |language=en}}</ref> Despite this order, access to X has been sporadic, with availability fluctuating based on the internet service provider, forcing users to rely on virtual private networks (VPNs), as noted by Alp Toker of NetBlocks.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-04-18 |title=X working with Pakistan govt to 'understand concerns' over ban |url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20240418-x-working-with-pakistan-govt-to-understand-concerns-over-ban |access-date=2024-05-15 |website=France 24 |language=en}}</ref>
Since the PIE uses ] routers to block traffic, which are capable of more complex filtering rules, the government removed this blanket block on all blogspot weblogs few months ago as it has the capability to only target specific websites.


]’s ] (PTI) party, a prolific user of social media platforms, has been particularly impacted by this ban. This reliance on social media grew especially after the country’s traditional media began censoring news about Khan and his party in the run-up to the elections. Khan, who has more than 20 million followers on X, saw his party call for protests against alleged rigging in the February 2024 General Elections. A government official’s admission of vote manipulation in mid-February raised further concerns about the transparency of the elections confirming Imran Khan’s claims to many and furthering the allegations.<ref name=":7" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Pakistan official admits involvement in rigging election results |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/17/pakistan-official-admits-involvement-in-rigging-election-results |access-date=2024-05-15 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Key Ally of Pakistan’s Prime Minister Demands End to Ban on X, Formerly Twitter |url=https://thediplomat.com/2024/04/key-ally-of-pakistans-prime-minister-demands-end-to-ban-on-x-formerly-twitter/ |access-date=2024-05-15 |website=thediplomat.com |language=en-US}}</ref>
As all internet traffic is routed through the PIE, Pakistani ]s have also been ordered to also block certain websites on their routers. Previously, all the major ISPs in Pakistan blocked weblogs hosted at blogspot.com, But now its been unblocked.


NetBlocks, the internet Observatory confirmed through its Live metrics showing X/Twitter has been restricted in #Pakistan for since February, with service remaining fully or intermittently restricted for most users. They added that the incident comes amidst a surge in internet censorship during elections marred by irregularities in Pakistan.<ref>
==Misplaced Pages article on Islamic Emirate of Waziristan earns a threat of an internet ban==


</ref> Asad Baig, a media strategist at ] said that “The government’s actions reek of authoritarianism, stifling dissent, and silencing voices in the name of maintaining control.”<ref>{{Cite web |last=Baig |first=Asad |date=2024-04-27 |title=Censorship and disinformation |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1829946 |access-date=2024-05-15 |website=DAWN.COM |language=en}}</ref>
On September 19, 2006 when a reporter from the '']'' asked a ] Foreign Office spokesperson to comment on a recent Misplaced Pages article "]", the spokeswoman characterized the article as "baseless propaganda". The news story pointedly ended with a reminder that "The federal government has said several times that it plans to ban several websites and web pages through the Ministry of Information and Technology and Pakistan Telecommunicatoin Authority (PTA).
<ref>
{{cite news
| title = Pakistan recognises Islamic Emirate of Waziristan?
| first = Ali
| last = Waqar
| publisher = '']''
| url = http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/print.asp?page=2006%5C09%5C19%5Cstory_19-9-2006_pg7_25
| date = ] ]
| accessdate = 2006-09-19
}}</ref>


Several condemnations of the ban were also exchanged by many non-governmental organizations.
== See also ==
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]


== Pakistan Internet Exchange ==
==References==
{{reflist}}


The Pakistan Internet Exchange (PIE), operated by the state-owned ] (PTCL), was created to facilitate the exchange of Internet traffic between ISPs within and outside of Pakistan.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928153425/http://www.nsrc.org/db/lookup/report.php?id=1085847930109:488737327&fromISO=PK |date=28 September 2011 }}, Tee Emm, e-mail, archived by the Network Startup Resource Center (NSRC), 27 May 2004</ref> Because the majority of Pakistan's Internet traffic is routed through the PIE (98% of Pakistani ISPs used the PIE in 2004), it provides a means to monitor and possibly block incoming and outgoing Internet traffic as the government deems fit.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110820123344/http://mailman.apnic.net/mailing-lists/s-asia-it/archive/2000/07/msg00028.html |date=20 August 2011 }}, by Zubair Fasial Abbasi, e-mail sent to s-asia-it, archived at the Asia Pacific Network Information Center (APNIC), 14 July 2000</ref>
==External links==
'''Media reports'''
*- In Urdu (Pakistan's Minister of State for Information Technology defends Web censorship)
*- In Urdu (with Govt. memo in English listing banned sites)
*- In Urdu (with Govt. memo in English listing banned sites)
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* - In Urdu (with Govt. memo in English listing banned sites)
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] in Pakistan is primarily conducted by the PIE under the auspices of the PTA. The PIE monitors all incoming and outgoing Internet traffic from Pakistan, as well as e-mail and keywords, and stores data for a specified amount of time. Law enforcement agencies such as the FIA can be asked by the government to conduct surveillance and monitor content. Under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Ordinance (PECO), ISPs are required to retain traffic data for a minimum of 90 days and may also be required to collect real-time data and record information while keeping their involvement with the government confidential. The ordinance does not specify what kinds of actions constitute grounds for data collection and surveillance.<ref name=ONI-Pakistan/>
===Related Efforts===
* ] at Wikia Pakistan
* ] at Wikia Censorship
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===Others===
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* (Pdf format) - official government website
* - Supports lifting ban on websites.
* - official government website
* - official government website
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* - ]
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== Pakistan Telecommunication Company ==
===Workarounds===
In April 2003, the PTCL announced that it would be stepping up monitoring of ] ]s. "]" and "]" sites were also monitored.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120524144520/http://archives.dawn.com/2003/07/28/local7.htm |date=24 May 2012 }}, Bahzad Alam, ''Dawn'', 28 July 2003Khan</ref> In early March 2004, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) ordered ]s (ISPs) to monitor access to all pornographic content. The ISPs, however, lacked the technical know-how, and felt that the PTCL was in a better position to carry out FIA's order. A Malaysian firm was then hired to provide a filtering system, but failed to deliver a working system.{{citation needed|date=August 2021}}
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* by
* - Website with a lot of articles on Internet, IT and Telecom in Pakistan, UAE and Gulf
* - Website to fool the Blogspot ban in Pakistan and other areas.


== National URL filtering and blocking system ==
===Digital Opportunity Initiative for Pakistan===
In March 2012, the Pakistan government took the unusual step of touting for firms that could help build it a nationwide content-filtering service.<ref name="Request">{{cite news| author=National ICT R&D Fund| title=Request for Proposal| date=March 2012| publisher=National ICT R&D Fund| url=http://ictrdf.org.pk/RFP-%20URL%20Filtering%20&%20Blocking.pdf| access-date=16 December 2019| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120321160014/http://www.ictrdf.org.pk/RFP-%20URL%20Filtering%20%26%20Blocking.pdf| archive-date=21 March 2012| url-status=dead}}</ref> The ] published a request for proposals for the "deployment and operation of a national level URL Filtering and Blocking System" which would operate on similar lines to China's ], or "Great Firewall".<ref name="Request" /> Academic and research institutions as well as private commercial entities had until 16 March to submit their proposals, according to the request's detailed 35-point system requirements list. Key among these is the following: "Each box should be able to handle a block list of up to 50 million URLs (concurrent unidirectional filtering capacity) with processing delay of not more than 1 milliseconds".<ref name="Request" />
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=== Deep packet inspection (DPI) ===
===Government policies relating to Internet censorship===
The ] (PTA) states that the DPI system has been installed to implement the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016, particularly to filter and block blasphemous content and any material that is considered to be against the integrity or security of Pakistan.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pakistan's digital spaces and privacy: Unpacking DPI and its implications {{!}} Political Economy {{!}} thenews.com.pk |url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/tns/detail/576187-unpacking-dpi-and-its-implications |access-date=2023-11-21 |website=www.thenews.com.pk |language=en}}</ref> Canadian firm ] was contracted to provide and set up the equipment in Pakistan.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Desk |first=Monitoring |date=2019-10-25 |title=Govt working with controversial firm to monitor internet traffic: report |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1512784 |access-date=2023-11-21 |website=DAWN.COM |language=en}}</ref>
* March 23, 2002


== ''Jyllands-Posten'' Muhammad cartoons ==
=== Websites reported as blocked in Pakistan ===
The ] began after 12 ]s, most of which ] the ] ], were published in the Danish ] '']'' on 30 September 2005. This led to protests across the Muslim world, some of which escalated into violence with instances of firing on crowds of protestors, resulting in more than 100 reported deaths,<ref name="web.archive.org">{{cite news|date=2 March 2006| title=Cartoon Body Count|publisher=Web|url=http://www.cartoonbodycount.com/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060326071135/http://www.cartoonbodycount.com/|archive-date=26 March 2006}}</ref> and included the ], setting fire to the Danish Embassies in Syria, Lebanon and Iran, storming of European buildings, and the ] of the ], ], ], ], and ] flags in ].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,399177,00.html |title=Arson and Death Threats as Muhammad Caricature Controversy Escalates |date=4 February 2006 |work=Spiegel online |access-date=26 April 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070502165608/http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,399177,00.html |archive-date=2 May 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/02/04/syria.cartoon/ |title=Embassies torched in cartoon fury |date=5 February 2006 |publisher=CNN.com |access-date=26 April 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070206083120/http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/02/04/syria.cartoon/ |archive-date=6 February 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref> The posting of the cartoons ] added to the controversy.
The following websites are reportedly banned in Pakistan, the references are mentioned in brackets.


On 1 March 2006 the ] directed the ] to keep tabs on Internet sites displaying the cartoons and called for an explanation from authorities as to why these sites had not been blocked earlier.<ref>{{cite news | url= http://www.asiaarts.ucla.edu/071102/article.asp?parentid=40226 | publisher= Dawn | title= Blasphemous websites be blocked, orders SC | date= 2 March 2006 | access-date= 14 June 2011 | archive-url= https://archive.today/20120730181659/http://www.asiaarts.ucla.edu/071102/article.asp?parentid=40226 | archive-date= 30 July 2012 | url-status= dead }}</ref> On 2 March 2006, pursuant to a petition filed under Article 184(3) of the ], the Supreme Court sitting ''en banc'' ordered the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) and other government departments to adopt measures for blocking websites showing blasphemous content. The Court also ordered Attorney General ] to explore laws which would enable blocking of objectionable websites. In announcing the decision, ] ], said, "We will not accept any excuse or technical objection on this issue because it relates to the sentiments of the entire ] world. All authorities concerned will have to appear in the Court on the next hearing with reports of concrete measures taken to implement our order".
Most of these site can be visited and it is fake report, the sites listed here are mainly related to Baluchistan and in Balochi language, which hardly be understand in Pakistan by 10,000 people and approximately 500 to 1000 will be able to understand the message given, so why Pakistan will need to bann these site?

Consequently, the government kept tabs on a number of websites hosting the cartoons deemed to be sacrilegious. This ban included all the ]s hosted at the popular ]ging service ], as some bloggers had put up copies of the cartoons – particularly many non-Pakistani blogs.

A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Chaudhry, summoned the country's Attorney General as well as senior communication ministry officials to give a report of "concrete measures for implementation of the court's order". At the hearing on 14 March 2006, the PTA informed the Supreme Court that all websites displaying the Muhammad cartoons had been blocked. The bench issued directions to the Attorney General of Pakistan, ], to assist the court on how it could exercise jurisdiction to prevent the availability of blasphemous material on websites the world over.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://archives.dawn.com/2006/03/14/top16.htm |title=Websites blocked, PTA tells SC: Blasphemous material |date=14 March 2006 |publisher=Dawn |access-date=14 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130912053554/http://archives.dawn.com/2006/03/14/top16.htm |archive-date=12 September 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The blanket ban on the blogspot.com blogs was lifted on 2 May 2006.<ref>], Wikinews, 6 May 2006</ref> Shortly thereafter the blanket ban was reimposed and extended to ] blogs. The blanket ban on the blogspot.com blogs was later lifted again.

Allegations of suppressing vote-rigging videos by the ] administration were also leveled by Pakistani bloggers, newspapers, media, and Pakistani anti-Musharraf opposition parties. The ban was lifted on 26 February 2008.<ref name="PAK-ban-lifted"/><ref name=RSF />

== Social media and platform blocking ==
] was blocked in Pakistan following a decision taken by the ] on 22 February 2008 because of the number of "non-Islamic objectionable videos."<ref name=RSF>{{cite news | publisher=Reporters Without Borders | url=http://en.rsf.org/pakistan-youtube-access-unblocked-after-27-02-2008,25889.html | title=Access to YouTube blocked until further notice because of "non-Islamic" videos | date=27 February 2008 | access-date=19 May 2010 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151119180621/http://en.rsf.org/pakistan-youtube-access-unblocked-after-27-02-2008,25889.html | archive-date=19 November 2015 | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130914225211/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/may/19/facebook-blocked-pakistan-muhammad-drawings |date=14 September 2013 }}, Declan Walsh, ''The Guardian'', 19 May 2010</ref> One report specifically named '']'', a controversial Dutch film, as the basis for the block.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080307212728/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7261727.stm |date=7 March 2008 }}, ''BBC News'', 24 February 2008</ref> Pakistan, an ], ordered its ISPs to block access to YouTube "for containing blasphemous web content/movies."<ref name="YahooNews"> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110521105257/http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5io-SE_bmENEzM46rwdVuDt9iK5zg |date=21 May 2011 }}, ''Agence France-Presse (AFP)'', 24 February 2008</ref> The action effectively blocked YouTube access worldwide for several hours on 24 February.<ref name="CNN"/> Defaming Muhammad under § 295-C of the ] requires a death sentence.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140218220810/http://www.thepersecution.org/archive/10_c.html |date=18 February 2014 }}, ''Pakistan Criminal Code'', 12 October 1986</ref> This followed increasing unrest in Pakistan by over the reprinting of the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons which depict satirical criticism of Islam.<ref name="YahooNews"/> Router misconfiguration by one Pakistani ISP on 24 February 2008 effectively blocked YouTube access worldwide for several hours.<ref name="CNN">{{cite web|url=http://bookchin.net/trip-research/youtube/pakistanBlocksYoutube.html |title=Pakistan move knocked out YouTube |work=CNN.com (Asia) |publisher=Natalie Bookchin (bookchin.net) |date=25 February 2008 |access-date=5 March 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141014220714/http://bookchin.net/trip-research/youtube/pakistanBlocksYoutube.html |archive-date=14 October 2014 }}</ref> On 26 February 2008, the ban was lifted after the website had removed the objectionable content from its servers at the demand of the ].<ref name="PAK-ban-lifted">{{Cite news |title=Pakistan lifts YouTube ban |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/02/27/2173501.htm?section=world |agency=] |publisher=] |date=26 February 2008 |access-date=26 February 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080301140400/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/02/27/2173501.htm?section=world |archive-date=1 March 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref>

On 19 and 20 May 2010, Pakistan's Telecommunication Authority ] imposed a ban on ], YouTube, ], and ] in response to a competition entitled ] on Facebook, in a bid to contain "blasphemous" material.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100522024516/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iqKZNUdJFQ6c8ctdkUW0C-vktIEA |date=22 May 2010 }}, Waqar Hussain, ''Agence France-Presse (AFP)'', 19 May 2010</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Pakistan blocks YouTube access over Muhammad depictions |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/may/20/pakistan-blocks-youtube-sacrilegious |work=] |access-date=23 May 2010 |first=Declan |last=Walsh |date=20 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130914225330/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/may/20/pakistan-blocks-youtube-sacrilegious |archive-date=14 September 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite book |last=Gillespie |first=Tarleton |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cOJgDwAAQBAJ |title=Custodians of the Internet: Platforms, Content Moderation, and the Hidden Decisions That Shape Social Media |date=2018 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-23502-9 |pages=191 |language=en}}</ref> The ban imposed on Facebook was the result of a ruling by the ], while the ban on the other websites was imposed arbitrarily by the PTA on the grounds of "objectionable content", a different response from earlier requests, such as pages created to promote peaceful demonstrations in Pakistani cities being removed because they were "inciting violence". The sitewide ban on Facebook was lifted on 27 May 2010, after Facebook filtered content so that users in Pakistan could not access the "blasphemous" content.<ref name=":6" /> However, individual videos deemed offensive to Muslims that are posted on YouTube will continue to be blocked.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100722062958/http://www.metro.co.uk/news/828161-youtube-ban-lifted-by-pakistan-authorities |date=22 July 2010 }}, Joanne McCabe, ''Metro'' (Associated Newspapers Limited, UK), 27 May 2010, accessed 18 September 2012</ref><ref>, ''The Times of India'', 27 May 2010</ref>

In September 2012, the PTA blocked the video-sharing website YouTube for not removing an ] film made in the United States, '']'', which mocks Muhammed. The website would remain suspended, it was stated, until the film was removed.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170212193547/https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/youtube-blocked-in-pakistan/2012/09/17/30081fa2-00ea-11e2-b257-e1c2b3548a4a_story.html |date=12 February 2017 }}, Hayley Tsukayama, ''Washington Post'', 17 September 2012</ref><ref name="New Delhi Television NDTV">{{cite web |title=YouTube blocked in Pakistan for not removing anti-Islam film |url=http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/youtube-blocked-in-pakistan-for-not-removing-anti-islam-film-268570 |publisher=] |date=17 September 2012 |access-date=18 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120918025124/http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/youtube-blocked-in-pakistan-for-not-removing-anti-islam-film-268570 |archive-date=18 September 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> In a related move, the PTA announced that it had blocked about 20,000 websites due to "objectionable" content.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/pakistan-blocks-20000-websites/article3977440.ece |title=Pakistan blocks 20,000 websites |work=] |date=8 October 2012 |access-date=16 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129185700/http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/pakistan-blocks-20000-websites/article3977440.ece |archive-date=29 November 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref>

On 25 July 2013, the government announced that it is mulling over reopening YouTube during the second week of August. A special 12-member committee was working under the ], ], to see if objectionable content can be removed. The ], the telecom watchdog in the country, has already expressed its inability to filter out select content.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/581837/youtube-ban-may-be-lifted-after-eid/ |title=YouTube ban may be lifted after Eid |work=] |date=25 July 2013 |access-date=26 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130727212035/http://tribune.com.pk/story/581837/youtube-ban-may-be-lifted-after-eid/ |archive-date=27 July 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref>

On 21 April 2014, Pakistan's Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights requested the Federal Government remove the ban on YouTube.<ref name="bp">{{cite web |title=Pakistan senate panel on Human Rights revokes ban on YouTube |url=http://news.biharprabha.com/2014/04/pakistan-senate-panel-on-human-rights-revokes-ban-on-youtube/ |work=IANS |publisher=news.biharprabha.com |access-date=21 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140423041730/http://news.biharprabha.com/2014/04/pakistan-senate-panel-on-human-rights-revokes-ban-on-youtube/ |archive-date=23 April 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="ARY News 2015-06-14">{{cite news |url=http://arynews.tv/en/exclusive-1000-days-on-youtube-remains-blocked-in-pakistan/ |title=Exclusive: 1,000 days on, YouTube remains blocked in Pakistan |author=Azhar Khan |work=] |date=14 June 2015 |access-date=16 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151026033556/http://arynews.tv/en/exclusive-1000-days-on-youtube-remains-blocked-in-pakistan |archive-date=26 October 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref>

On 8 February 2015, the government announced that YouTube will remain blocked 'indefinitely' because no tool or solution had been found which can totally block offensive content.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.dawn.com/news/1162139 |title=YouTube to remain blocked 'indefinitely' in Pakistan: officials |work=] |agency=] |date=8 February 2015 |access-date=13 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150716025207/http://www.dawn.com/news/1162139 |archive-date=16 July 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> As of June 2015 — 1,000 days on — the ban was still in effect, and YouTube cannot be accessed from either ] or ]s.<ref name="ARY News 2015-06-14"/>

The ban was lifted due to technical glitch on 6 December 2015 according to ISPs in Pakistan.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.thenewstribe.com/2015/12/06/youtube-accessible-in-pakistan-by-mistake/ |title=YouTube accessible in Pakistan by mistake |date=6 December 2015 |access-date=10 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151231201505/http://www.thenewstribe.com/2015/12/06/youtube-accessible-in-pakistan-by-mistake/ |archive-date=31 December 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> As September 2016, the ban has been lifted officially, as YouTube launched a local version for Pakistan.<ref name="Tooba Masood">{{cite news|last1=Masood|first1=Tooba|last2=Bashir|first2=Omer|title=YouTube Pakistan officially launched|url=http://www.dawn.com/news/1286842|access-date=1 October 2016|publisher=]|date=29 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161001042229/http://www.dawn.com/news/1286842|archive-date=1 October 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 25 November 2017, the ] internet shutdown observatory and ] identified mass-scale blocking of ] and content-sharing websites including YouTube, Twitter and Facebook throughout Pakistan imposed by the government in response to the violent ].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://digitalrightsfoundation.pk/press-release-drf-and-netblocks-find-blanket-and-nation-wide-ban-on-social-media-in-pakistan-and-demand-it-to-be-lifted-immediately/|title=DRF and NetBlocks find blanket and nation-wide ban on social media in Pakistan and demand it to be lifted immediately|date=26 November 2017|work=Digital Rights Foundation|access-date=29 November 2017|language=en-GB|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201040815/https://digitalrightsfoundation.pk/press-release-drf-and-netblocks-find-blanket-and-nation-wide-ban-on-social-media-in-pakistan-and-demand-it-to-be-lifted-immediately/|archive-date=1 December 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://nation.com.pk/27-Nov-2017/activists-assail-blanket-ban-on-social-media|title=Activists assail blanket ban on social media|date=27 November 2017|work=The Nation|access-date=29 November 2017|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171128200108/http://nation.com.pk/27-Nov-2017/activists-assail-blanket-ban-on-social-media|archive-date=28 November 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.samaa.tv/social-buzz/2017/11/need-know-nation-wide-internet-disruptions-dharna/|title=All you need to know about nation-wide internet disruptions during dharna|date=27 November 2017|website=Samaa TV|language=en-US|access-date=29 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171127185835/https://www.samaa.tv/social-buzz/2017/11/need-know-nation-wide-internet-disruptions-dharna/|archive-date=27 November 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> The technical investigation found that all major Pakistani fixed-line and ] providers were affected by the restrictions, which were lifted by the PTA the next day when protests abated following the resignation of ] ].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://nation.com.pk/26-Nov-2017/the-issue-of-social-media-networking|title=The issue of social media networking|date=26 November 2017|work=The Nation|access-date=29 November 2017|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171128200126/http://nation.com.pk/26-Nov-2017/the-issue-of-social-media-networking|archive-date=28 November 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2019, The National Assembly Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecom was informed by the PTA that 900,000 URLs were blocked in Pakistan for "reasons such as carrying blasphemous and pornographic content and/or sentiments against the state, judiciary or the armed forces."

On 9 October 2020, ] was banned by the PTA for "immoral content" <ref name="tiktok">{{cite news |last1=Hussain|first1=Javed|title=PTA bans TikTok over complaints against 'immoral content'|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1584123|access-date=18 October 2020|work=dawn.com|date=9 October 2020|language=en}}</ref>

On 16 April 2021, various social media applications were banned. The Ministry of Interior ordered the PTA to restrict access of Pakistani users to Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp, YouTube, and Telegram.<ref></ref> It was issued to block these social media websites from 11:00 AM to 03:00 PM on Friday with an immediate effect. The reason to put a temporary ban on these social media platforms was not mentioned on the official notice. Later on, PTA explained the ban by putting forward the statement, "In order to maintain public order and safety, access to certain social media applications has been restricted temporarily." There was a severe condition in Pakistan due to ] anti-France protests. The condition became more intense after Pakistan announced to ban ] under Anti-Terror Law.<ref></ref>

On Sunday 5 February 2023, Misplaced Pages was banned due to not removing purportedly blasphemous materials but it could still be accessed using the app.{{Citation needed|date=February 2023}} The ban was lifted on Tuesday 7 February 2023, with the PM Office stating, "Blocking the site in its entirety was not a suitable measure to restrict access to some objectionable contents and sacrilegious matter on it."<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-02-06 |title=PM orders immediate restoration of Misplaced Pages |url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/2399664/pm-orders-immediate-restoration-of-wikipedia-across-pakistan |access-date=2023-02-07 |website=The Express Tribune |language=en}}</ref>

In February 2024, ] was reportedly blocked as per reports of users. However there were no official announcements from the government. On 17 April 2024, Pakistan's interior ministry told the ] that the block was amid ] over national security concerns. Later the court asked the government to restore the platform within one week.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-04-17 |title=Pakistan blocked social media platform X over national security, ministry tells court |url=https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/pakistan-blocked-social-media-platform-x-over-national-security-ministry-says-712304 |access-date=2024-04-17 |website=WION |language=en-us}}</ref>

In November 2024, ] was banned by Pakistani authorities, which was confirmed by internet watchdog ].<ref>https://www.techradar.com/pro/vpn/pakistan-blocks-bluesky-amid-popularity-surge</ref>

== Netsweeper usage ==
In June 2013, the ] interdisciplinary research laboratory uncovered that Canadian ] product Netsweeper to be in use at the national level in Pakistan. The system has categorized billions of ]s and is adding 10 million new URLs every day. The lab also confirmed that ] in Pakistan are using methods of ] to block websites at the behest of ].

According to the report published by the lab, "Netsweeper technology is being implemented in Pakistan for purposes of political and social filtering, including websites of ], sensitive religious topics, and independent media."<ref>" {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130722090901/http://tribune.com.pk/story/565879/pakistan-government-using-netsweeper-for-internet-filtering-report/ |date=2013-07-22 }}" ''The Express Tribune''. 20 June 2013.</ref>

== 2020 rules ==
In October 2020 Government of Pakistan issued new policy rules called Citizens Protection (Against Online Harm) Rules 2020 or the Removal and Blocking of Unlawful Content (Procedure, Oversight and Safeguards) under 2016 ].
The government of Pakistan intends to access internet user data and control and remove objectionable content.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Welle (www.dw.com)|first=Deutsche|title=Pakistan seeks to 'control digital media' amid anti-government protests {{!}} DW {{!}} 28 October 2020|url=https://www.dw.com/en/pakistan-seeks-to-control-digital-media-amid-anti-government-protests/a-55422291|access-date=14 January 2021|website=DW.COM|language=en-GB}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|last=Welle (www.dw.com)|first=Deutsche|title=Pakistan: Social media curbs shrink free speech space {{!}} DW {{!}} 21 December 2020|url=https://www.dw.com/en/pakistan-social-media-restrictions-hurt-free-speech/a-56012599|access-date=14 January 2021|website=DW.COM|language=en-GB}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite news|last=Shahzad|first=Asif|date=19 November 2020|title=New internet rules to give Pakistan blanket powers of censorship|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/pakistan-socialmedia-censorship-idINKBN27Z2KF|access-date=14 January 2021}}</ref> The companies would be required to remove or block any asked content from their websites within 24 hours after being reported by Pakistani authorities, social media companies or internet service providers face may be fined of up to $3.14 million (€2.57 million) for failure to curb the sharing of content deemed to be defamatory of Islam, promoting terrorism, hate speech, pornography or any content viewed as problematic to Pakistan's national security.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" />
*
*
Rights activists complain that new rules are compromising user privacy at mercy of Pakistani establishment sans judicial oversight, likely to erode media freedom and freedom of expression further there by erode political freedoms and result in increased censorship.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" />
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*
Since then, dating apps like Tinder are banned in Pakistan, video sharing app named TikTok faced a temporary ban til removed content; issued notices to U.S.A. based Ahmadiyya community web portal TrueIslam.com, Google and Misplaced Pages for returning search results displaying ] community and their leadership, ], 's claims of Muslimness.<ref>{{Cite web|date=13 January 2021|title=Pakistan attempts to prosecute Ahmadi US citizens for digital blasphemy|url=https://religionnews.com/2021/01/13/pakistan-attempts-to-prosecute-ahmadi-us-citizens-for-digital-blasphemy-980-1000/|access-date=14 January 2021|website=Religion News Service|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Hussain|first=Javed|date=25 December 2020|title=PTA issues notices to Google, Misplaced Pages for 'disseminating sacrilegious content'|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1597761|access-date=14 January 2021|website=DAWN.COM|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" />
*

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== Blocked by Pakistan Telecommunication Authority ==
*
{{Dynamic list|date=June 2014}}
*
{| class="wikitable sortable"
*
|-
*
! Name !! Type of site !! Stated reason !! Start date !! Resolution date !! Blocked by
*
|-
*
| rowspan="2" | ]<ref name="Ribeiro 2008">{{cite web |last=Ribeiro |first=John |date=25 February 2008 |title=Pakistan causes worldwide YouTube blackout |url=https://www.macworld.co.uk/news/apple/pakistan-causes-worldwide-youtube-blackout-20536/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151012231823/http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/apple/pakistan-causes-worldwide-youtube-blackout-20536/ |archive-date=12 October 2015 |publisher=Macworld UK}}</ref><ref name="Graham 2008">{{cite journal |last=Graham |first=Stephen |date=26 February 2008 |title=Pakistan Lifts YouTube Ban |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/02/26/pakistan-lifts-youtube-ba_n_88522.html |url-status=live |journal=] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310074718/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/02/26/pakistan-lifts-youtube-ba_n_88522.html |archive-date=10 March 2016 |access-date=29 October 2019}}</ref><ref name="dbtb 2088">{{cite web |date=24 February 2008 |title=TWA Internet Backbone Blocks Only Blasphemous Video URL |url=http://dbtb.org/2008/02/24/twa-internet-backbone-blocks-only-blasphemous-video-url |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160314052334/http://dbtb.org/2008/02/24/twa-internet-backbone-blocks-only-blasphemous-video-url/ |archive-date=14 March 2016 |access-date=29 October 2019 |publisher=Don’t Block the Blog}}</ref><ref name="OpenNet 2012">{{cite web |title=Pakistan |url=https://opennet.net/research/profiles/pakistan |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190531192703/https://opennet.net/research/profiles/pakistan |archive-date=31 May 2019 |access-date=29 October 2019 |publisher=]}}</ref><ref name="CBS 2008">{{cite news |date=25 February 2008 |title=Pakistan Drops YouTube Ban |agency=CBS News/AP |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pakistan-drops-youtube-ban/ |url-status=live |access-date=29 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515075527/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/02/25/tech/main3876322.shtml |archive-date=15 May 2013}}</ref><ref name="Sandoval 2008">{{cite news |last=Sandoval |first=Greg |date=26 February 2008 |title=Pakistan welcomes back YouTube |agency=CNET News Blogs |url=http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9879513-7.html |url-status=live |access-date=29 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081015213222/http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9879513-7.html |archive-date=15 October 2008}}</ref><ref name="Gillani 2010">{{cite journal |last=Gillani |first=Waqar |date=19 May 2010 |title=Pakistan: Court Blocks Facebook |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/20/world/asia/20briefs-Pakistan.html |url-status=live |journal=] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180622193338/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/20/world/asia/20briefs-Pakistan.html |archive-date=22 June 2018 |access-date=29 October 2019}}</ref><ref name="Jeewanjee 2010">{{cite web |last=Jeewanjee |first=Zainab |date=20 May 2010 |title=Facebook Banned in Pakistan—May 2010 |url=http://pakistan.foreignpolicyblogs.com/2010/05/20/two-pakistans |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100607024448/http://pakistan.foreignpolicyblogs.com/2010/05/20/two-pakistans/ |archive-date=7 June 2010 |access-date=29 October 2019 |publisher=World Affairs Blog Network}}</ref><ref name="Walsh 2010">{{cite journal |last=Walsh |first=Declan |date=31 May 2010 |title=Pakistan Lifts Facebook Ban but 'Blasphemous' Pages Stay Hidden |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/may/31/pakistan-lifts-facebook-ban |url-status=live |journal=] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190531090225/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/may/31/pakistan-lifts-facebook-ban |archive-date=31 May 2019 |access-date=29 October 2019}}</ref><ref name="Shahzad 2010">{{cite news |last=Shahzad |first=Asif |date=25 June 2010 |title=Internet Censorship in Pakistan: Watching Google for Blasphemy |agency=] |url=http://www.csmonitor.com/From-the-news-wires/2010/0625/Internet-censorship-in-Pakistan-Watching-Google-for-blasphemy |url-status=live |access-date=29 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180623093106/https://www.csmonitor.com/From-the-news-wires/2010/0625/Internet-censorship-in-Pakistan-Watching-Google-for-blasphemy |archive-date=23 June 2018}}</ref>|| rowspan="2" | ] || rowspan="2" | Blasphemous material || colspan="2" | {{Start date|df=yes|2008|02|25}}
*
|
*
|-
*
| colspan="2" rowspan="2" | {{Start date|2010|05}}
*
|
*
|-
*
| ]<ref name="OpenNet 2012" /><ref name="Gillani 2010" /><ref name="Jeewanjee 2010" /><ref name="Walsh 2010" /><ref name="Shahzad 2010" />|| ] || Blasphemous material (partial block)
*
|
*
|-
*
|] (now defunct)
*
| rowspan="2" |Social networking service
*
| rowspan="2" |No reason stated
*
| rowspan="2" |Nov 2021
*
| rowspan="2" |Unknown
*
|
*
|-
*
|9gag
*
|
*
|-
*
| ]<ref name="OpenNet 2012" /><ref name="Gillani 2010" /><ref name="Jeewanjee 2010" /><ref name="Walsh 2010" /><ref name="Shahzad 2010" /> || ], ], ] ] || Blasphemous material (partial block) || colspan="2" rowspan="2" | {{Start date|2010|05}}
*
|
*
|-
*
| ]<ref name="Ribeiro 2008" /><ref name="Graham 2008" /><ref name="dbtb 2088" /><ref name="OpenNet 2012" /><ref name="CBS 2008" /><ref name="Sandoval 2008" /> || ] || rowspan="2" | Blasphemous material
* ,
|
* ,
|-
* ,
| ]<ref name="Rabwah Times 2014">{{cite tweet | ref = Rabwah Times 2014 | last = Times | first = Rabwah | user = RabwahTimes | number = 471914683734044672 | date = 29 May 2014 | title = Received this from a reader in Pakistan where RabwahTimes has been banned for blasphemous content | access-date = 11 September 2020 }}</ref> || ] || {{Start date|df=yes|2014|05|29}} || Current
* ,
|
* ,
|-
* ,
|]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://dunyanews.tv/index.php/en/Technology/269156-WordPress-banned-in-Pakistan-over-security-issues|title = WordPress banned in Pakistan over &#124; Technology &#124; Dunya News}}</ref>
* ,
|]
* ,
|National Security
* ,
| colspan="2" |{{Start date|df=yes|2015|03|22}}
* ,
|
* http://www.fascistarmy.org/
|-
|]
|]
|No reason stated
|{{Start date|df=yes|2019|09|17}}
|{{End date|df=yes|2019|09|24}}
|
|-
|] (some subreddits only)
|]
| rowspan="2" |]
|Unknown
|Current
|
|-
|]
| rowspan="2" |Image sharing platform
|{{Start date|df=yes|2020|01|03}}
|{{End date|df=yes|2020|12|23}}
|
|-
|ImgBox
| rowspan="2" |No reason stated
| rowspan="2" |Unknown
| rowspan="2" |Unknown
|
|-
|]
|Torrent Client
|
|-
|]<ref name="tiktok" />
|Social
|Immoral content
|{{Start date|df=yes|2020|10|09}}
|20 October 2020
|
|-
|]
|Image Sharing Platform
|]
|Unknown (discovered 1 January 2021)
|Unknown (discovered 21 May 2024)
|
|-
|]<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|last=Ali |first=Kalbe |date=16 April 2021|title=Social media access partially restored in Pakistan after blockage to 'maintain public order'|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1618552|access-date=16 April 2021|website=DAWN.COM|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite web|last=Zulfikar|first=Fahad|date=16 April 2021|title=Pakistan temporarily blocks major social media sites including Facebook and Twitter after TLP's violent protests|url=https://www.brecorder.com/news/40085084|access-date=16 April 2021|website=Brecorder|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite web|title=Pakistan temporarily blocks social media|url=https://techcrunch.com/2021/04/16/pakistan-temporarily-blocks-social-media/|access-date=16 April 2021|website=TechCrunch|language=en-US}}</ref>
| rowspan="2" |]
| rowspan="6" |No reason stated
| rowspan="5" |1100hrs PKT, 16 April 2021.
| rowspan="5" |1500hrs PKT, 16 April 2021.
|
|-
|]<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4" /><ref name=":5" />
|
|-
|]<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4" /><ref name=":5" />
|]
|
|-
|]<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4" /><ref name=":5" />
| rowspan="2" |]
|
|-
|]<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4" /><ref name=":5" />
|
|-
| ]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pakistan Bans Misplaced Pages Over 'Sacrilegious Content' |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/pakistan-bans-wikipedia-over-sacrilegious-content-/6947956.html |access-date=2023-02-05 |website=VOA |date=4 February 2023 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2023-02-04 |title=Pakistan blocks Misplaced Pages for 'blasphemous content' |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-64523501 |access-date=2023-02-05}}</ref>||], ], ] ]
|Sacrilegious Content
|{{Start date|2023|02|04|df=yes}} || {{End date|7 February 2023}}
|-
| Insaf.pk<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-01-26 |title=PTI says its websites 'blocked' in Pakistan ahead of Feb 8 polls |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1808757 |access-date=2024-01-26 |website=DAWN.COM |language=en}}</ref>
|Political website
|
|{{Start date|2024|01|26|df=yes}} || Till date
|Probably
|-
|Twitter
|]
|
|19 february 2024
|Till date
|Probably
|}

==Video games ban==
{{Main|List of banned video games in Pakistan}}

=== PUBG ban ===
In July 2020, PTA banned the online game ],<ref>{{Cite web|title=Media Center {{!}} PTA|url=https://www.pta.gov.pk/en/media-center/single-media/pta-temporarily-suspends-pubg-game-010720|access-date=28 July 2020|website=www.pta.gov.pk}}</ref> Millions of ] users of Pakistan have flooded sites like ], ] and have shown overwhelming support for PUBG (]).<ref>{{Cite web|title=Pakistani PUBG Players are Tweeting to PM Imran Khan to Unban the Popular Game|url=https://www.news18.com/news/buzz/pakistani-pubg-players-are-tweeting-to-pm-imran-khan-to-unban-popular-game-2737503.html|access-date=28 July 2020|website=News18|date=27 July 2020}}</ref> In response, PTA lifted ban on the popular online game.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Jahangir|first=Ramsha|date=28 July 2020|title=Ban on PUBG to remain in interest of public order: PTA|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1571533|access-date=28 July 2020|website=DAWN.COM|language=en}}</ref>

==Pornography ban==
{{Main|Pornography in Pakistan}}

== Other notable bans ==
* ]'s website<ref>{{cite news |url=http://torrentfreak.com/top-torrent-sites-and-richard-dawkins-blocked-in-pakistan-130723/ |title=Top torrent sites and Richard Dawkins blocked in Pakistan |work=] |date=23 July 2013 |access-date=25 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130724044416/http://torrentfreak.com/top-torrent-sites-and-richard-dawkins-blocked-in-pakistan-130723/ |archive-date=24 July 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> and the ] (IMDb)<ref>{{cite news |title=Why was IMDB blocked? |url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/636013/why-was-imdb-blocked/ |author=Nighat Dad |work=] |date=23 November 2013 |access-date=30 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903130857/http://tribune.com.pk/story/636013/why-was-imdb-blocked/ |archive-date=3 September 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref> were blocked for brief periods in 2013.
* ] and ] were blocked accidentally on 7 February 2013 by the Pakistan Telecom Authority.<ref name=xbl-psn-block>{{cite web |last=Pirzada |first=Usman |title=Xbox Live, Playstation Network and GameRanger blocked in Pakistan – Accidentally |url=http://wccftech.com/xbox-live-playstation-network-gameranger-blocked-pakistan/ |work=WCCFTech |publisher=WCCFTech |access-date=9 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222135530/http://wccftech.com/xbox-live-playstation-network-gameranger-blocked-pakistan/ |archive-date=22 February 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* Major Torrenting Websites. In July 2013, Pakistani ISPs banned 6 of the top 10<ref>" {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130712191259/http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2013-130106/ |date=2013-07-12 }}" ''TorrentFreak''. 6 January 2013.</ref> public ] in Pakistan. These sites include ], ], ], Bitsnoop, Extra Torrent and Torrent Reactor.<ref>" {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130724044416/http://torrentfreak.com/top-torrent-sites-and-richard-dawkins-blocked-in-pakistan-130723/ |date=2013-07-24 }}" ''TorrentFreak''. 25 July 2013.</ref> They also banned the similar site ].<ref>" " ''The Nation''. 25 July 2013.</ref> However proxies for these torrent sites are still active and P2P connections are working normally.<ref>" {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130725053050/http://propakistani.pk/2013/07/24/torrent-websites-blocked-in-pakistan-for-time-being-yes/ |date=2013-07-25 }}" ''ProPakistani''. 24 July 2013.</ref> This move lead to a massive public backlash, especially from the Twitter and Facebook communities of Pakistan. In the aftermath of such critique, the ], ], deactivated her Twitter account.<ref>" {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130727193036/http://tribune.com.pk/story/581423/it-ministers-twitter-account-deactivated-amidst-critique-of-policies/ |date=2013-07-27 }}" ''The Express Tribune''. 24 July 2013.</ref> Popular ] client ] is also banned in Pakistan, it gives an "ERR_SSL_PROTOCOL_ERROR", but with a ] (VPN), the site works, users are facing this issue from few years, still facing in 2022.
* ], a website about ] was banned as of 19 June 2015.
* ], a website about image sharing/hosting was banned in December 2015. ] (] content only) was also banned in 2019. No reason have been given for these bans.
* An extreme form of word censorship is effective on all website's ]s. URLs containing words like ], ] are blocked, this includes pages on medical information sites like ], ] about ] and ]. This is similar to word censorship in effect for ] and ].<ref name="DailyDot - No Sexting"> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160820135711/http://www.dailydot.com/layer8/pakistan-banned-words-text-messages/ |date=20 August 2016 }}, DailyDot. Retrieved 21 November 2011</ref><ref name="Gizmodo - SMS censorship"> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170718134336/http://gizmodo.com/5861375/heres-every-single-word-youre-not-allowed-to-text-in-pakistan |date=18 July 2017 }}, Gizmodo. Retrieved 21 November 2011</ref><ref name="Electronic Frontier Foundation - Word censorship"> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160916033851/https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2011/11/pakistan-telecommunication-authority-tries-ban-%E2%80%9Cobscene%E2%80%9D-texts |date=16 September 2016 }}, Electronic Frontier Foundation. Retrieved 28 November 2011</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Freedom of speech|Internet|Pakistan|Law|Politics}}
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* (Urdu), Reba Shahid, ''BBC Urdu.com'', 29 July 2006,
* , website

{{Censorship}}
{{Censorship and websites}}
{{Internet censorship by country}}
{{Social issues in Pakistan}}
{{Asia in topic|Internet censorship in}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Internet Censorship In Pakistan}}
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Latest revision as of 17:23, 1 December 2024

Main article: Internet in Pakistan

Internet users in Pakistan are prompted to this message when accessing blocked websites.
Internet
Visualization of Internet routing pathsAn Opte Project visualization of routing paths through a portion of the Internet
General
Governance
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icon Internet portal

Internet censorship in Pakistan is due to the governments attempts to control information sent and received using social media and the Internet in Pakistan. Presently, as of December 2024, X (formerly Twitter) is banned, despite the government using the platform to issue official statements.

There have been significant instances of website access restriction in Pakistan, most notably when YouTube was banned/blocked from 2012 to 2016. Pakistan has asked a number of social media organisations to set up local offices within the country, but this is yet to happen.

Pakistan made global headlines in 2010 for blocking Facebook and other Web sites in response to a contest popularized on the social networking site to draw images of the prophet Muhammad. In general, Internet filtering in Pakistan remains both inconsistent and intermittent, with filtering primarily targeted at content deemed to be a threat to national security, pornography, homosexuality and at religious content considered blasphemous. However, the present banning of Twitter is politically motivated.

In 2019, the National Assembly Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecom was informed by Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) that 900,000 URLs were blocked in Pakistan for "reasons such as carrying blasphemous and pornographic content and/or sentiments against the state, judiciary or the armed forces." In February 2023, Misplaced Pages was banned by the PTA for two days over alleged blasphemous content.

Overview

In mid-2012 Pakistanis had relatively easy access to a wide range of content, including most sexual, political, social, and religious sites on the Internet. The OpenNet Initiative listed Internet filtering in Pakistan as substantial in the conflict/security area, and as selective in the political, social, and Internet tools areas in August 2012. Additionally, Freedom House rated Pakistan's "Freedom on the Net Status" as "Not Free" in its Freedom on the Net 2022 report. This is still true as of 2022.

Internet filtering in Pakistan is regulated by the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) under the direction of the government, the Supreme Court of Pakistan, and the Ministry of Information Technology (MoIT). Although the majority of filtering in Pakistan is intermittent—such as the occasional block on a major Web site like Blogspot or YouTube—the PTA continues to block sites containing content it considers to be blasphemous, anti-Islamic, or threatening to internal security. Online civil society activism that began in order to protect free expression in the country continues to expand as citizens utilize new media to disseminate information and organize.

Pakistan has blocked access to websites critical of the government or the military. Blocking of websites is often carried out under the rubric of restricting access to "blasphemous" content, pornography, or religious immorality. At the end of 2011, the PTA had officially banned more than 1,000 pornographic websites in Pakistan.

Current situation: 2024 political censorship of Twitter

See also: Allegations of rigging in the 2024 Pakistani general election

X, formerly known as Twitter, has remained inaccessible in Pakistan since February 2024, depriving citizens of their basic right to access information. The Pakistan government blocked access to the social media platform around the time of the 2024 February elections, citing national security concerns. Despite the government's stance, both the government and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) refused to comment on the outages, which were widely reported by internet watchdog groups.

Activists challenging the ban argue that it was designed to suppress dissent following the February 8 general elections, which were marred by widespread claims of vote rigging and subsequent protests. Authorities had also shut down mobile services on the day of the elections, again citing security concerns. NetBlocks, an internet monitoring group, reported that users were unable to access X on 10 February while the country was awaiting the election results.

In April 2024, the Sindh High Court ordered the government to restore access to the platform within one week, according to a report by the AFP news agency, citing lawyer Moiz Jaaferi, who had launched a separate challenge against the ban. Despite this order, access to X has been sporadic, with availability fluctuating based on the internet service provider, forcing users to rely on virtual private networks (VPNs), as noted by Alp Toker of NetBlocks.

Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, a prolific user of social media platforms, has been particularly impacted by this ban. This reliance on social media grew especially after the country’s traditional media began censoring news about Khan and his party in the run-up to the elections. Khan, who has more than 20 million followers on X, saw his party call for protests against alleged rigging in the February 2024 General Elections. A government official’s admission of vote manipulation in mid-February raised further concerns about the transparency of the elections confirming Imran Khan’s claims to many and furthering the allegations.

NetBlocks, the internet Observatory confirmed through its Live metrics showing X/Twitter has been restricted in #Pakistan for since February, with service remaining fully or intermittently restricted for most users. They added that the incident comes amidst a surge in internet censorship during elections marred by irregularities in Pakistan. Asad Baig, a media strategist at Dawn News said that “The government’s actions reek of authoritarianism, stifling dissent, and silencing voices in the name of maintaining control.”

Several condemnations of the ban were also exchanged by many non-governmental organizations.

Pakistan Internet Exchange

The Pakistan Internet Exchange (PIE), operated by the state-owned Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd (PTCL), was created to facilitate the exchange of Internet traffic between ISPs within and outside of Pakistan. Because the majority of Pakistan's Internet traffic is routed through the PIE (98% of Pakistani ISPs used the PIE in 2004), it provides a means to monitor and possibly block incoming and outgoing Internet traffic as the government deems fit.

Internet surveillance in Pakistan is primarily conducted by the PIE under the auspices of the PTA. The PIE monitors all incoming and outgoing Internet traffic from Pakistan, as well as e-mail and keywords, and stores data for a specified amount of time. Law enforcement agencies such as the FIA can be asked by the government to conduct surveillance and monitor content. Under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Ordinance (PECO), ISPs are required to retain traffic data for a minimum of 90 days and may also be required to collect real-time data and record information while keeping their involvement with the government confidential. The ordinance does not specify what kinds of actions constitute grounds for data collection and surveillance.

Pakistan Telecommunication Company

In April 2003, the PTCL announced that it would be stepping up monitoring of pornographic websites. "Anti-Islamic" and "blasphemous" sites were also monitored. In early March 2004, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) ordered Internet service providers (ISPs) to monitor access to all pornographic content. The ISPs, however, lacked the technical know-how, and felt that the PTCL was in a better position to carry out FIA's order. A Malaysian firm was then hired to provide a filtering system, but failed to deliver a working system.

National URL filtering and blocking system

In March 2012, the Pakistan government took the unusual step of touting for firms that could help build it a nationwide content-filtering service. The Pakistan Telecommunications Authority published a request for proposals for the "deployment and operation of a national level URL Filtering and Blocking System" which would operate on similar lines to China's Golden Shield, or "Great Firewall". Academic and research institutions as well as private commercial entities had until 16 March to submit their proposals, according to the request's detailed 35-point system requirements list. Key among these is the following: "Each box should be able to handle a block list of up to 50 million URLs (concurrent unidirectional filtering capacity) with processing delay of not more than 1 milliseconds".

Deep packet inspection (DPI)

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) states that the DPI system has been installed to implement the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016, particularly to filter and block blasphemous content and any material that is considered to be against the integrity or security of Pakistan. Canadian firm Sandvine was contracted to provide and set up the equipment in Pakistan.

Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons

The Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy began after 12 editorial cartoons, most of which depicted the Islamic prophet Muhammad, were published in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten on 30 September 2005. This led to protests across the Muslim world, some of which escalated into violence with instances of firing on crowds of protestors, resulting in more than 100 reported deaths, and included the bombing of the Danish embassy in Pakistan, setting fire to the Danish Embassies in Syria, Lebanon and Iran, storming of European buildings, and the burning of the Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, French, and German flags in Gaza City. The posting of the cartoons online added to the controversy.

On 1 March 2006 the Supreme Court of Pakistan directed the government to keep tabs on Internet sites displaying the cartoons and called for an explanation from authorities as to why these sites had not been blocked earlier. On 2 March 2006, pursuant to a petition filed under Article 184(3) of the Constitution of Pakistan, the Supreme Court sitting en banc ordered the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) and other government departments to adopt measures for blocking websites showing blasphemous content. The Court also ordered Attorney General Makhdoom Ali Khan to explore laws which would enable blocking of objectionable websites. In announcing the decision, Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, said, "We will not accept any excuse or technical objection on this issue because it relates to the sentiments of the entire Muslim world. All authorities concerned will have to appear in the Court on the next hearing with reports of concrete measures taken to implement our order".

Consequently, the government kept tabs on a number of websites hosting the cartoons deemed to be sacrilegious. This ban included all the weblogs hosted at the popular blogging service blogger.com, as some bloggers had put up copies of the cartoons – particularly many non-Pakistani blogs.

A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Chaudhry, summoned the country's Attorney General as well as senior communication ministry officials to give a report of "concrete measures for implementation of the court's order". At the hearing on 14 March 2006, the PTA informed the Supreme Court that all websites displaying the Muhammad cartoons had been blocked. The bench issued directions to the Attorney General of Pakistan, Makhdoom Ali Khan, to assist the court on how it could exercise jurisdiction to prevent the availability of blasphemous material on websites the world over.

The blanket ban on the blogspot.com blogs was lifted on 2 May 2006. Shortly thereafter the blanket ban was reimposed and extended to Typepad blogs. The blanket ban on the blogspot.com blogs was later lifted again.

Allegations of suppressing vote-rigging videos by the Musharraf administration were also leveled by Pakistani bloggers, newspapers, media, and Pakistani anti-Musharraf opposition parties. The ban was lifted on 26 February 2008.

Social media and platform blocking

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 § 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 demand of the Government of Pakistan.

On 19 and 20 May 2010, Pakistan's Telecommunication Authority PTA imposed a ban on Misplaced Pages, YouTube, Flickr, and Facebook in response to a competition entitled Everybody Draw Mohammed Day on Facebook, in a bid to contain "blasphemous" material. The ban imposed on Facebook was the result of a ruling by the Lahore High Court, while the ban on the other websites was imposed arbitrarily by the PTA on the grounds of "objectionable content", a different response from earlier requests, such as pages created to promote peaceful demonstrations in Pakistani cities being removed because they were "inciting violence". The sitewide ban on Facebook was lifted on 27 May 2010, after Facebook filtered content so that users in Pakistan could not access the "blasphemous" content. However, individual videos deemed offensive to Muslims that are posted on YouTube will continue to be blocked.

In September 2012, the PTA blocked the video-sharing website YouTube for not removing an anti-Islamic film made in the United States, Innocence of Muslims, which mocks Muhammed. The website would remain suspended, it was stated, until the film was removed. In a related move, the PTA announced that it had blocked about 20,000 websites due to "objectionable" content.

On 25 July 2013, the government announced that it is mulling over reopening YouTube during the second week of August. A special 12-member committee was working under the Minister of IT and Telecommunication, Anusha Rahman, to see if objectionable content can be removed. The Pakistan Telecommunications Authority, the telecom watchdog in the country, has already expressed its inability to filter out select content.

On 21 April 2014, Pakistan's Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights requested the Federal Government remove the ban on YouTube.

On 8 February 2015, the government announced that YouTube will remain blocked 'indefinitely' because no tool or solution had been found which can totally block offensive content. As of June 2015 — 1,000 days on — the ban was still in effect, and YouTube cannot be accessed from either desktop or mobile devices.

The ban was lifted due to technical glitch on 6 December 2015 according to ISPs in Pakistan. As September 2016, the ban has been lifted officially, as YouTube launched a local version for Pakistan.

On 25 November 2017, the NetBlocks internet shutdown observatory and Digital Rights Foundation identified mass-scale blocking of social media and content-sharing websites including YouTube, Twitter and Facebook throughout Pakistan imposed by the government in response to the violent Tehreek-e-Labaik protests. The technical investigation found that all major Pakistani fixed-line and mobile service providers were affected by the restrictions, which were lifted by the PTA the next day when protests abated following the resignation of Minister for Law and Justice Zahid Hamid.

In 2019, The National Assembly Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecom was informed by the PTA that 900,000 URLs were blocked in Pakistan for "reasons such as carrying blasphemous and pornographic content and/or sentiments against the state, judiciary or the armed forces."

On 9 October 2020, TikTok was banned by the PTA for "immoral content"

On 16 April 2021, various social media applications were banned. The Ministry of Interior ordered the PTA to restrict access of Pakistani users to Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp, YouTube, and Telegram. It was issued to block these social media websites from 11:00 AM to 03:00 PM on Friday with an immediate effect. The reason to put a temporary ban on these social media platforms was not mentioned on the official notice. Later on, PTA explained the ban by putting forward the statement, "In order to maintain public order and safety, access to certain social media applications has been restricted temporarily." There was a severe condition in Pakistan due to Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan anti-France protests. The condition became more intense after Pakistan announced to ban Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan under Anti-Terror Law.

On Sunday 5 February 2023, Misplaced Pages was banned due to not removing purportedly blasphemous materials but it could still be accessed using the app. The ban was lifted on Tuesday 7 February 2023, with the PM Office stating, "Blocking the site in its entirety was not a suitable measure to restrict access to some objectionable contents and sacrilegious matter on it."

In February 2024, X (formerly Twitter) was reportedly blocked as per reports of users. However there were no official announcements from the government. On 17 April 2024, Pakistan's interior ministry told the Islamabad High Court that the block was amid general election over national security concerns. Later the court asked the government to restore the platform within one week.

In November 2024, Bluesky was banned by Pakistani authorities, which was confirmed by internet watchdog NetBlocks.

Netsweeper usage

In June 2013, the Citizen Lab interdisciplinary research laboratory uncovered that Canadian internet-filtering product Netsweeper to be in use at the national level in Pakistan. The system has categorized billions of URLs and is adding 10 million new URLs every day. The lab also confirmed that ISPs in Pakistan are using methods of DNS tampering to block websites at the behest of Pakistan Telecommunication Authority.

According to the report published by the lab, "Netsweeper technology is being implemented in Pakistan for purposes of political and social filtering, including websites of secessionist movements, sensitive religious topics, and independent media."

2020 rules

In October 2020 Government of Pakistan issued new policy rules called Citizens Protection (Against Online Harm) Rules 2020 or the Removal and Blocking of Unlawful Content (Procedure, Oversight and Safeguards) under 2016 Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA).

The government of Pakistan intends to access internet user data and control and remove objectionable content. The companies would be required to remove or block any asked content from their websites within 24 hours after being reported by Pakistani authorities, social media companies or internet service providers face may be fined of up to $3.14 million (€2.57 million) for failure to curb the sharing of content deemed to be defamatory of Islam, promoting terrorism, hate speech, pornography or any content viewed as problematic to Pakistan's national security.

Rights activists complain that new rules are compromising user privacy at mercy of Pakistani establishment sans judicial oversight, likely to erode media freedom and freedom of expression further there by erode political freedoms and result in increased censorship.

Since then, dating apps like Tinder are banned in Pakistan, video sharing app named TikTok faced a temporary ban til removed content; issued notices to U.S.A. based Ahmadiyya community web portal TrueIslam.com, Google and Misplaced Pages for returning search results displaying Ahmadiyya community and their leadership, Mirza Masroor Ahmad, 's claims of Muslimness.

Blocked by Pakistan Telecommunication Authority

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.
Name Type of site Stated reason Start date Resolution date Blocked by
YouTube Video hosting service Blasphemous material 25 February 2008 (2008-02-25)
May 2010 (2010-05)
Flickr Social networking service Blasphemous material (partial block)
Omegle (now defunct) Social networking service No reason stated Nov 2021 Unknown
9gag
Misplaced Pages Multilingual, web-based, free-content encyclopedia Blasphemous material (partial block) May 2010 (2010-05)
Twitter Social networking service Blasphemous material
Rabwah Times Online newspaper 29 May 2014 (2014-05-29) Current
WordPress Blog hosting National Security 22 March 2015 (2015-03-22)
Quora Q&A website No reason stated 17 September 2019 (2019-09-17) 24 September 2019 (2019-09-24)
Reddit (some subreddits only) Social news Pornography Unknown Current
Imgur Image sharing platform 3 January 2020 (2020-01-03) 23 December 2020 (2020-12-23)
ImgBox No reason stated Unknown Unknown
uTorrent Torrent Client
TikTok Social Immoral content 9 October 2020 (2020-10-09) 20 October 2020
DeviantArt Image Sharing Platform Pornography Unknown (discovered 1 January 2021) Unknown (discovered 21 May 2024)
Facebook Social networking platform No reason stated 1100hrs PKT, 16 April 2021. 1500hrs PKT, 16 April 2021.
Twitter
YouTube Video hosting service
WhatsApp Messaging service
Telegram
Misplaced Pages Multilingual, web-based, free-content encyclopedia Sacrilegious Content 4 February 2023 (2023-02-04) 7 February 2023 (7 February 2023)
Insaf.pk Political website 26 January 2024 (2024-01-26) Till date Probably PTA
Twitter Social networking platform Amid Disinformation 19 february 2024 Till date Probably PTA

Video games ban

Main article: List of banned video games in Pakistan

PUBG ban

In July 2020, PTA banned the online game PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, Millions of social media users of Pakistan have flooded sites like Facebook, Twitter and have shown overwhelming support for PUBG (PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds). In response, PTA lifted ban on the popular online game.

Pornography ban

Main article: Pornography in Pakistan

Other notable bans

  • Richard Dawkins's website and the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) were blocked for brief periods in 2013.
  • Xbox Live and GameRanger were blocked accidentally on 7 February 2013 by the Pakistan Telecom Authority.
  • Major Torrenting Websites. In July 2013, Pakistani ISPs banned 6 of the top 10 public Torrent sites in Pakistan. These sites include Piratebay, Kickass torrents, Torrentz, Bitsnoop, Extra Torrent and Torrent Reactor. They also banned the similar site Mininova. However proxies for these torrent sites are still active and P2P connections are working normally. This move lead to a massive public backlash, especially from the Twitter and Facebook communities of Pakistan. In the aftermath of such critique, the IT Minister of Pakistan, Anusha Rahman, deactivated her Twitter account. Popular BitTorrent client μTorrent is also banned in Pakistan, it gives an "ERR_SSL_PROTOCOL_ERROR", but with a virtual private network (VPN), the site works, users are facing this issue from few years, still facing in 2022.
  • Pouet, a website about demoscene was banned as of 19 June 2015.
  • Imgur, a website about image sharing/hosting was banned in December 2015. Reddit (NSFW content only) was also banned in 2019. No reason have been given for these bans.
  • An extreme form of word censorship is effective on all website's URLs. URLs containing words like sex, porn are blocked, this includes pages on medical information sites like WebMD, MedicineNet about sexual health and couples therapy. This is similar to word censorship in effect for SMS and text messages.

See also

References

  1. "Google, Facebook and Twitter threaten to leave Pakistan over new rules". Hindustan times. 21 November 2020.
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