ISLAMABAD: Due to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority’s (PTA) failure to filter or remove “sacrilegious information,” Wikipedia services were shut down in the nation on Saturday.
Wikipedia has been blocked in Pakistan.
Today, Pakistan’s Telecommunications Authority blocked @Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects in the country.
Follow the thread for more information 🧵⬇️ (1/4)https://t.co/8xM73if9B2
— Wikimedia Foundation (@Wikimedia) February 4, 2023
A statement from the Wikimedia Foundation claims that “The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority notified us on February 1 that “Wikipedia services have been impaired for 48 hours” due to Wikipedia’s refusal to remove content deemed to be “illegal”. Our research reveals that as of 3 February, this has grown into a complete block “.
The fifth most populated nation in the world, Pakistan, would not have access to the “largest free knowledge library” or to “everyone’s access to Pakistan’s history and culture” if the platform were restricted there, the report claims.
Them hoped that Pakistan’s government would join it in upholding access to Wikipedia as a fundamental human right, and that it would do so quickly “so that the people of Pakistan can continue to receive and exchange knowledge with the world.”
We believe that having access to knowledge is a basic human right, the statement concluded.
The PTA downgraded Wikipedia earlier this week and ordered the reported information to be blocked or removed for 48 hours. The authority also issued a warning that failure to comply will result in the platform being barred inside of Pakistan.
“Wikipedia was asked to block or take down the specified contents by sending out a notification in accordance with the relevant legal requirements and court order (s).
Furthermore, the platform was given an opportunity to be heard, but failed to take use of it by eliminating the offensive content or appearing before the authority “According to a previous PTA statement.
