The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) blocked Wikipedia services in Pakistan on Friday after they refused to withdraw blasphemous content.
On February 1, the regulatory authority had earlier degraded Wikipedia services in Pakistan on account of “not blocking/removing sacrilegious content”.
A statement issued by the PTA had said that an opportunity for a hearing was provided to Wikipedia, however, the platform neither complied by removing the blasphemous content nor appeared before the Authority.
Wikipedia was approached for blocking/removal of the said contents by issuing a notice under applicable law & court order(s). An opportunity of hearing was also provided, however, the platform neither complied by removing the blasphemous content nor appeared before the Authority. pic.twitter.com/6dWRcbxHGB
— PTA (@PTAofficialpk) February 1, 2023
Given the intentional failure on part of the platform to comply with the directions of PTA, the services of Wikipedia were degraded for 48 hours with the direction to block/remove the reported contents.
In case of non-compliance by Wikipedia, the platform has been blocked within Pakistan.
The restoration of Wikipedia’s services will be reconsidered if the reported unlawful content is blocked/removed.
