PTA chief recommends blocking social media in Pakistan over blasphemous content

The Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) Chairperson Amir Azeem Bajwa has recommended that the government block social media websites in the country.

Briefing a Senate Standing Committee, Bajwa said there was blasphemous content on social media and several fake accounts. He added that the majority of websites were being operated from outside the country.

The PTA chairperson called on the government to formulate a policy and block social media networks like UAE and China. He recommended that like these countries, indigenous social networking websites should be made.

Bajwa added that the government had tasked PTA to make social media rules which would be presented soon.

According to Bajwa, since 2010 over 39,000 links had been blocked as he dispelled the impression that Pakistan was one of the leading countries where child pornography was being generated. He informed the committee that 8,000 websites related to pornography had been blocked.

Further, the PTA chairperson said 8,000 complaints regarding blasphemous content had been received and over 40,000 websites had been blocked. Commenting on the Dark Web, Bajwa said this was hard to control.