The furore over the websites blocked last week by the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority on the instructions of the Lahore High Court refuses to die down, and for good reason.

At least 800 web pages and URLs have so far been blocked for Pakistan’s Internet users in an effort to restrict access to material considered blasphemous. The number may grow. However, apart from the Facebook link that called for the drawing of the Prophet (PBUH) – and which has now been removed – we have been given no explanation as to what exactly this objectionable material is.

There are a number of points to ponder. First, the LHC order referred to the caricatures’ site. On whose authority has access to the other sites been limited? The PTA may be guilty of overstepping its authority by extending the scope of the court’s order to apply the directive to websites of its own choosing. Second, given the other issues confronting Pakistan, there is the possibility that the accusation of ‘blasphemy’ is being used to cover up the attempt to suppress political criticism. Sites such as Facebook and YouTube have become a prominent tool for political activism and criticism. Third, blocking these sites constitutes outright censorship and a serious transgression of the individual’s right to access information of his or her choice on the Internet.

Pakistan cannot police the world. Blocking websites achieves nothing and only invites derision from the global community besides encouraging mischievous elements to undertake similarly offensive exercises in order to provoke a reaction. In shutting off access to these sites, the state is denying its citizens access to information – interestingly, one of the blocked pages is a Wikipedia discussion on the freedom of speech versus blasphemy. Lastly, bans like this simply do not work.

The only way to comprehensively control access to sections of the Internet is to stop Internet facilities altogether in the country. A number of ways to circumvent the blocked material are being communicated to Internet users who are thus able to access the website of their choice. Clearly, the PTA has failed to achieve its goals and has only been criticised for its arbitrary ways. It must be made to respect the right to information and restore the blocked websites immediately, leaving Internet users to decide for themselves what is or is not offensive.

There will always be a handful of people who will turn violent and shun a measured response to crass exercises such as the drawing event. But the answer is not to resort to practices that drag the country further back into the dark ages.
Source: Dawn
Date:5/25/2010