For failing to block or remove “sacrilegious content,” the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) blocked the online encyclopedia Wikipedia across the country on Saturday.
On Wednesday, the PTA instructed users to block or remove the reported content after degrading Wikipedia for 48 hours.
The following statement was released on Friday by the Wikimedia Foundation, the charity that runs Wikipedia: The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority notified us on February 1 that “the services of Wikipedia have been degraded for 48 hours” due to the failure to remove “unlawful” content. Our data indicate that this has grown into a complete block as of February 3.
It went on to say that Pakistan, the fifth most populous nation in the world, would not have access to the “largest free knowledge repository” if the platform were blocked there.
It added that “depriving everyone access to Pakistan’s history and culture” would result from blocking Wikipedia.
It hoped that the Pakistani government would join its commitment to the human right to knowledge and promptly restore access to Wikipedia “so that the people of Pakistan can continue to receive and share knowledge with the world.”
The statement continued, “We believe that access to knowledge is a human right.”
Wikipedia was previously warned by the authority that if it did not remove the “sacrilegious content,” the online encyclopedia would be blocked in Pakistan.
“Wikipedia was approached for the purpose of blocking or removing the aforementioned content by issuing a notice pursuant to the applicable law and court order(s). In a previous statement, the PTA stated, “The platform neither complied by removing the blasphemous content nor appeared before the authority. An opportunity of hearing was also provided.”
“Subject to blocking/removal of the reported unlawful contents, the restoration of Wikipedia’s services will be reconsidered. [ According to local laws, “the PTA is committed to ensuring a safe online experience for all Pakistani citizens,” it added.
Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia that can be edited for free and is crowdsourced.
Millions of people around the world frequently use it as a starting point for basic information.
When trying to access the website, users in Pakistan receive the message “this site cannot be reached.”
This is not the first time the authority has noticed content on Wikipedia that is offensive. The PTA had sent notices to Google Inc. and Wikipedia in December 2020 for spreading “sacrilegious content” via the platforms.
From 2012 to 2016, YouTube was blocked in Pakistan. The country has also repeatedly blocked the video-sharing app TikTok due to its “indecent” and “immoral” content in recent years.
