IN yet another vaguely worded statement, it emerged that the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority has asked video-sharing platform YouTube to immediately block content that is “vulgar, indecent and immoral” or that which falls under the ambit of hate speech. The authority has requested that content under these categories be blocked for users in Pakistan “to prevent repugnant discord”. This new statement on the government’s objection to YouTube content is reminiscent of the warning issued to the Chinese short video-sharing platform TikTok in July, when the PTA ordered it to filter “obscene” content. It also serves as a warning for YouTube users for whom the memory of the 2012 YouTube ban, which lasted three years, is still fresh.

Time and again, the PTA raises the issue of alleged obscene or vulgar content, yet fails to make details of such content public. What exactly is this content and what laws are being violated? Against this backdrop of secrecy, it is understandable that rights activists are concerned that these moves may be stealthy attempts at censorship and muzzling of free expression. As the space for dissent and criticism shrinks in Pakistan — as evidenced by successive governments passing legislation such as the Pakistan Electronic Crimes Act, 2016, and now eyeing the Citizens Protection (Against Online Harm) Rules, 2020 — it is important for both the PTA and tech companies to be transparent about their communication and dealings. In countries where citizens are not well-versed in digital rights and where authoritarian governments take advantage of this fact, platforms like YouTube must share information and be accountable to the users that generate profits for them. Their annual reports ought to transparently tell users what is being restricted and why, instead of simply aggregating a set of numbers to show how many of these requests were made. Citizens have a right to know what the PTA is asking YouTube to remove and, if the tech platform is complying with government requests, users must know the reasons behind its actions.

Published in Dawn, August 30th, 2020