Pakistan has lifted the ban on YouTube that was enforced in the country three years ago. The ban, which came into place after a documentary titled Innocence of Muslims that was deemed offensive to religious sentiments, was aired.
The ban affected millions of users in Pakistan, and the lifting of the ban by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) came as a sign of relief. It has been reported that Google has signed a deal with the Pakistan government, in which the government has the right to censor offensive material from the site.
Social media activists in Pakistan have expressed doubts about the transparency behind the deal but Google assured its users that it wouldn’t censor material without conducting a review. In its official statement, Google’s representatives expressly told reporters that ‘We have clear community guidelines, and when videos violate those rules, we remove them.” Over the last few years, some of Pakistan’s most popular YouTube channels, such as Coke Studio Pakistan wasn’t accessible for millions of users in Pakistan.
If you’re reading this in Pakistan, congratulations guys!
