Decision to block social networking website with offensive content

The chairman of Pakistan Telecommunication Authority has suggested the government to block social networking websites with obscene content.

Briefing the Senate Standing Committee, Chairman PTA Azim Bajwa said that profane content on social media is a big problem, accounts are being run on social media with fake names, many websites are being operated from foreign countries.

Chairman PTA said that the government should make a policy to block social networking websites like China and UAE, the government should make a policy and create alternative social networking websites at the local level, otherwise the technical capacity of PTA Increase the

Azim Bajwa said that more than 39,000 links have been blocked since 2010, advertising to create awareness among people that offensive content is a crime.

Chairman PTA said that there are misconceptions about Pakistan being number one in child pornography. In 2015, an international newspaper reported that Pakistan is number one in child pornography. The numbers were wrong, Pakistan certainly has child pornography but Pakistan is not number one in child pornography, we have blocked 850,000 websites related to pornography.

The chairman further said that we have received 8500 complaints from the public regarding obscene content, blocked 40 thousand websites of obscene content, dark web exists in Pakistan but it is not easy to control it, block proxy through dark web. Websites are opened.

Azim Bajwa said that the government has ordered us to make social media rules, PTA is preparing social media rules which will be presented soon.

FIA officials told the committee in their briefing that 32 thousand complaints were received in 3 years regarding cyber crimes, FIA cyber crimes wing has only 15 investigation officers, 15 from Punjab and 4 from Islamabad involved in the cases. People were arrested for obscene material, 12 cases of obscene material are being investigated.