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According to a media report on Saturday, Wikipedia has been disabled in Pakistan because it refused to remove inflammatory or blasphemous content.
The Pakistan Telecom Authority (PTA), which threatened to shut Wikipedia if the “blasphemous” content was not removed, crippled Wikipedia services for 48 hours before blacklisting it, according to The News daily.
A PTA spokeswoman was approached late on Friday night on the blocking of Wikipedia, and the official responded “absolutely,” according to the report.
Due to blasphemous material on it, the PTA degraded the encyclopedia website for 48 hours at the high court’s request, which disrupted and slowed access to it.
Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia that is maintained by the Wikimedia Foundation and is written and edited by volunteers from all over the world.
According to the PTA spokeswoman, Wikipedia was contacted to prohibit or remove the aforementioned content by sending out a notification.
There was also a chance for a hearing, but neither the platform obliged by removing the offensive material nor did it show up in front of the authority.
The services of Wikipedia were reduced for 48 hours with the instruction to block/remove the reported contents due to the platform’s deliberate failure to comply with PTA’s directives.
The spokesman stated that if the alleged illegal content is blocked or removed, the restoration of Wikipedia’s services will be reevaluated.
Due to content deemed heretical, social media giants Facebook and YouTube have previously been restricted.
In Pakistan, where Muslims make up a majority, blasphemy is a touchy subject.
