Twitter - Access Denied
by
Saad Hasan
Excerpts of this article were initially authored by Saad Hasan and reported by Suhail Chaudhary from Express News the Tribune, part of the International Herald Tribune. However, addendum has been cast, from independent and various sources, in light of news that has been revealed over the past few hours.
Micro-blogging website Twitter was temporarily banned across Pakistan on Sunday by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), Express News reported. Twitter, had especially become a hub of activity following the nationwide ban on Facebook and YouTube. The PTA has denied the overall blockage of Twitter and has stated that any users experiencing difficulties with the site should contact their ISPs. Denying the news, PTA spokesperson Colonel Muhammad Younus said that he “does not know anything about the ban”, adding that he “would check” if anything like this has happened.
Pakistani Telecommunication Authority (PTA) blocked Facebook following a Lahore High Court (LHC) order to ban the website temporarily till May 31. On May 20, PTA also blocked the popular video sharing website, YouTube for hosting “blasphemous content”. Wikipedia and Flickr.com were also blocked by various ISPs on May 20.
The controversial page by the name “Draw Muhammad Day” had been created by a Facebook user in response to American cartoonist, Molly Noris’s protest to the decision of US television channel, Comedy Central to to cancel an episode of the popular show “South Park” over its depiction of the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH). Such ongoing caricatures have often been the source of heated controversy.
Noris has however disavowed having declared May 20 “Draw Muhammad Day” and has condemned the effort and issued an apology.
Many Pakistanis were enraged by the hosting of sacrilegious content by Facebook and anti-Facebook protests were carried out across the country. At the same time, a group of civil society activists against internet censorship held a press conference to protest the curbs on various websites by Pakistani authorities.
Facebook said it was disappointed on being blocked in Pakistan and was considering making objectionable content inaccessible in Pakistan.
Micro-blogging website Twitter was temporarily banned across Pakistan on Sunday by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), Express News reported. Twitter, had especially become a hub of activity following the nationwide ban on Facebook and YouTube. The PTA has denied the overall blockage of Twitter and has stated that any users experiencing difficulties with the site should contact their ISPs. Denying the news, PTA spokesperson Colonel Muhammad Younus said that he “does not know anything about the ban”, adding that he “would check” if anything like this has happened.
Pakistani Telecommunication Authority (PTA) blocked Facebook following a Lahore High Court (LHC) order to ban the website temporarily till May 31. On May 20, PTA also blocked the popular video sharing website, YouTube for hosting “blasphemous content”. Wikipedia and Flickr.com were also blocked by various ISPs on May 20.
The controversial page by the name “Draw Muhammad Day” had been created by a Facebook user in response to American cartoonist, Molly Noris’s protest to the decision of US television channel, Comedy Central to to cancel an episode of the popular show “South Park” over its depiction of the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH). Such ongoing caricatures have often been the source of heated controversy.
Noris has however disavowed having declared May 20 “Draw Muhammad Day” and has condemned the effort and issued an apology.
Many Pakistanis were enraged by the hosting of sacrilegious content by Facebook and anti-Facebook protests were carried out across the country. At the same time, a group of civil society activists against internet censorship held a press conference to protest the curbs on various websites by Pakistani authorities.
Facebook said it was disappointed on being blocked in Pakistan and was considering making objectionable content inaccessible in Pakistan.
This move was made, keeping in mind the “emotions of the masses” reported Chaudhry.The PTA blocked the access to Twitter directly from the upstream links without notifying Internet Service Providers (ISPs), said Wahajuz Siraf, convener for Internet Services Providers Association of Pakistan (ISPAK).
Express News reported that the Ministry of Information and Technology tried getting through to authorities on Twitter throughout the night and that about five faxes were sent to the micro-blogging website.
Eventually, in reply to PTA’s e-mail, Twitter authorities replied saying that they “cannot stop any individual doing anything of this nature on the website”.
One ISP provider, on condition of anonymity has advised callers registering complaints to use Vtunnel and proxies as an alternate to access Twitter. Currently, the micro-blogging website is still accessible by means of mobile phones and secure browsers such as Opera Mini.
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