ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s telecom authority has warned Twitter with a ban in country for not complying with its directive to block objectionable content, according to a media report.
The PTA Wednesday informed the Senate Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat that while Facebook, YouTube and other social media platforms complied with requests from the government to block objectionable content, Twitter did not oblige, the Dawn News reported today.
Out of a hundred requests from Pakistan to block certain offensive material, roughly five per cent are entertained. Twitter ignores all the remaining requests, Director General of PTA’s Internet Policy and Web Analysis, Nisar Ahmed, told the committee.
The committee had met for a briefing on penalties fixed by the PTA against derogatory’ comments related to Pakistan spreading through social media, the report said.
Informing the committee about Islamabad High Court’s recent directive to the PTA to ask Twitter to respond to requests from Pakistan or face the risk of being blocked in the country, Ahmed said, “The PTA has conveyed the court’s concern to Twitter, but has not got a response. The regulatory authority will implement court orders if Twitter does not respond to the final notice.
“The court is determined to teach Twitter a lesson they will lose business,” he added.
