Internet Service Providers (ISPs) said that Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) wants to control political opinion under the guise of indecent content. The two sides remain deadlocked on the issue of how to keep indecent content on the Internet.
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) claimed that the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) wanted to control political opinion under the guise of indecent content.
He alleged that any ban against Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) could result in turning broadband into a limited band in the country.
The Telecom Authority had convened a one-point meeting at its headquarters on ‘access to obscene websites through CDNs interfaced locally through your network’.
The PTA told the ISPs that obscene content is a violation of Section 37 of PECA 2016 and the internet providers were also apprised of its concerns but the situation did not improve.
‘YouTube, Facebook, and Netflix’ are CDN providers in Pakistan and are hosted on servers of local ISPs. Which includes PTCL, Storm Fiber, Niatel, Wi-Tribe etc. and telecom companies including Jazz, Telenor, Zong and Ufone.
Officials said that ISPs are the gateway to Pakistan and they need to put pressure on their partners to prevent illegal content, especially immoral content.
He also gave an example of communal and hate-based trends on Twitter.
How was Twitter allowed to use the hashtag and get so much attention, the official said.
He said that these dangerous trends have the potential to create serious internal conflicts, which is why there is a need to check regulation in CDNs as well.
Pakistan currently has 3000 Gbps internet traffic and CDNs in Pakistan provide equal amount of traffic to Pakistani internet users.
Industry sources said ISPs rejected the PTA’s demand and apologized for regulating CDN content.
An ISP representative said that CDNs are controlled by foreign content providers and that ISPs have no control over them.
He said PDAs should be filtered through Web Monitoring System (WMS) and increase their capacity.
Also, during the meeting, a delegation of ISPs told the PTA that shutting down CDN means 60 percent internet shutdown in Pakistan and 2 to 3 times the cost of internet from current rates.
A senior ISP executive said that the PTA must realize that no major CDNs in the country are displaying indecent content so they need to clearly identify the issue.
Referring to PECA 2016, PTA has asked ISPs to ensure that no indecent content is passed through their network.
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2024-08-02 07:46:06
