Pakistan has asked YouTube to immediately block all "objectionable" videos from being accessed in the country. The Pakistan Telecom Authority has asked the platform to "immediately block vulgar, indecent, immoral, nude and hate speech content for viewing in Pakistan". This was reported by Yahoo! News. The PTA's order said that: PTA has done so keeping in view the extremely negative effects of indecent / immoral / nude content available on YouTube and to prevent repugnant discord due to the presence of hate speech and sectarian material. YouTube has also been directed to put in place "an effective content monitoring and moderation mechanism" in that "unlawful material is detected / deleted and not accessible within Pakistan", according to PTA's statement. The ban shows Pakistan's tightening grip over social media and online content. In February, the Pakistani government notified a law the required social media companies to, among other things, remove illegal content within 24 hours. It gave the government unfettered power to deem any content illegal, offensive, anti-Pakistan, or extremist. For instance, it even requires that accounts of Pakistani diaspora be taken down, if they share objectionable content. Read more: Social media cos must take down illegal content within 24 hrs in Pakistan, according to new rules Pakistan's tightening grip over the internet Pakistan had blocked YouTube for three years, which was removed in 2016. The company was allowed to restore services only after it launched a local version that allowed the Pakistani government to demand removal of offensive content. Pakistan…
