Islamabad:
Alphabet-owned YouTube has said it was considering blocking the channels of dozens of Pakistani vloggers after a court in Islamabad tried to ban them from being “anti-state” after a complaint filed by National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA).
The judgment of the legal magistrate came after NCCIA criticized more than two dozen channels in a June 2rd report to “share very frightening, provocative and derogatory content against state institutions and officials in the state of Pakistan”.
YouTube told 27 content creators that their channels could be removed if they did not comply with the court’s orders. “If you do not, according to our local law, we can meet the request without further notice,” said the popular video sharing platform IE emails to channel owners.
Campaigns with digital rights have said that any prohibition would further undermine freedom of expression in Pakistan, where authorities are accused of stifling newspapers and television, and social media is seen as one of the few business for dissent.
In their separate statements, the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) and the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) expressed deep concern about the court decision and said the decision was against the fundamental rights of fair trial and freedom of expression.
The ruling magistrate’s order is also against journalistic values and principles of justice, SCBA President Mian Muhammad Rauf Atta said in a statement. “A decision cannot be made against anyone without giving them a chance of being heard. This is another example of suppressing the voice of the opponents.”
In a separate statement, HRCP said the closure of whole channels was an excessive and inappropriate measure. “If specific videos contain hate speech or illegal content, action must be taken against these individual pieces of content – not the entire channel,” it said.
The Commission emphasized that the constitutional right to freedom of expression must be protected. “This right is important not only for individual freedom, but also to ensure the government’s accountability and public access to different views,” added it.
However, Prime Minister of Internal Talal Chaudhry said these content creators would also be exposed to criminal charges. “You can’t use these mobile phones and social media to create chaos,” he told a local news channel. “There are laws to regulate and they will have to work according to these laws,” he said.
One of the creators, Asad Toor, said the move was aimed at undermining people’s fundamental and constitutional rights, political parties and other dissident groups. “I have dedicated my platform to these sub -dogs that have no place to go to and raise their votes against the oppression of the state,” he said.
Digital rights activist Usama Khilji said the court did not meet proper process. “What is rubbing is the complete lack of legal process,” he said. “In this day and age, you can’t suppress digital media,” said Zulfikar Bukhari of the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-E-Insaf.
