Regulating websites

Published February 27, 2014

THIS is apropos Fahad Daud’s letter (Feb 9). It was about the PTA’s policy of regulating critical websites for Pakistani users. He argued that as a free citizen he has the right to surf whatsoever he wants to in his privacy.

The problem is that the PTA is not for just one citizen. It is for the entire nation, and being a state institute it is the custodian of Pakistan’s ideological borders and state policies.

If some indecent websites are blocked by the PTA on the demand of the people, the PTA has no obligation to heed to the demand of one citizen.

Although the PTA didn’t block some websites such as Youtube for this purpose, the reason for blocking Youtube was the blasphemous material being shown on those websites.

Fehmida Abdul Sattar
Karachi

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