Facebook ban in Pakistan due to Blasphemy

[Jungibaaz]

Will sale of mobile and other devices solve the problem. You are asking us to do this

Even we did that it will not resolve the issue. We need solution not to go for ignore and give license to them to do whatever they want to do. By the way that was German response for fake news http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technolo...hreatens-fine-facebook-500000-every-time/(Are we that much low bred that we do nothing in case of our Prophet P.B.U.H?)

It's not my idea to block one's own sight in case of an unlikely scenario of seeing something offensive. That is the philosophy that underlines moves to ban facebook or youtube because of some isolated cases of offensive content. And I simply pointing out how flawed this is.

And you're right, it does not stop that content being posted.

So I will turn this back on you, and ask how it is you go about doing the following without burying our heads in the sand:

We need solution not to go for ignore and give license to them to do whatever they want to do.

I'll wait for a solution.

 

[Sky lord]

To be honest, I would say that nothing is too low for those in power right now in Pakistan, and thus I would not be surprised, if that theory were ever shown to be correct.

I see you speak Diplomatese quite well.

I think war and peace is on to something here.

All around the world entrenched governments are feeling the heat due to social media. From US to Middle East to China. In several countries including those in the immediate neighborhood political parties that have been entrenched for decades have been overthrown due to social mobilization through new technologies.

I know that several anti establishment you tube videos, songs, posts have gone viral in Pak. Some of it by expat Pakistanis that the government will find hard to silence. I strongly suspect that some clever people who have much to gain by ensuring the status quo are trying to get social media banned using religion as the easy way to emote the general population. I have no proof ...but seems quite likely to me!

 

[VCheng]

I see you speak Diplomatese quite well.

I think war and peace is on to something here.

All around the world entrenched governments are feeling the heat due to social media. From US to Middle East to China. In several countries including those in the immediate neighborhood political parties that have been entrenched for decades have been overthrown due to social mobilization through new technologies.

I know that several anti establishment you tube videos, songs, posts have gone viral in Pak. Some of it by expat Pakistanis that the government will find hard to silence. I strongly suspect that some clever people who have much to gain by ensuring the status quo are trying to get social media banned using religion as the easy way to emote the general population. I have no proof ...but seems quite likely to me!

The desire to control all media is nothing new in Pakistan. It did not start with the present government, and it won't be the last either. And it always fails.

 

[Yaseen1]

I think Pakistan should make its own facebook like softwere.It will also bring money in Pakistan and will preserve our religious values.We give huge money to facebook if it is banned and replaced by our own softwere it will benefit us alot as we have huge population.

 

[My-Analogous]

It's not my idea to block one's own sight in case of an unlikely scenario of seeing something offensive. That is the philosophy that underlines moves to ban facebook or youtube because of some isolated cases of offensive content. And I simply pointing out how flawed this is.

And you're right, it does not stop that content being posted.

So I will turn this back on you, and ask how it is you go about doing the following without burying our heads in the sand:



I'll wait for a solution.

1. Same way the current Govt is doing. Approach them and draw the line and asked them to follow and make sure that they will get whatever the requirements are
2. Or if they refuse then use firewall and block pages and try to give alternative products to people and try to promote other options as well so that they will not blackmail you and same time we call all Muslims countries and make a plan and execute them for any future incidents. If we all set one policy for all then they will be in back-foot because they only knows the language of money and if its hurts then they will do whatever we asked for.
3. It is time to define line between freedom of speech and freedom of saying bullshit.

 

[Mrc]

Is there a strong reason why not to blick facebook and let a local startup take its place?????????????????????????????????????

 

[Jungibaaz]

1. Same way the current Govt is doing. Approach them and draw the line and asked them to follow and make sure that they will get whatever the requirements are
2. Or if they refuse then use firewall and block pages and try to give alternative products to people and try to promote other options as well so that they will not blackmail you and same time we call all Muslims countries and make a plan and execute them for any future incidents. If we all set one policy for all then they will be in back-foot because they only knows the language of money and if its hurts then they will do whatever we asked for.
3. It is time to define line between freedom of speech and freedom of saying bullshit.

With respect, I disagree, and I'll tell you why.

Here're the flaws in this method, you will stop blaphemous content like this, I grant you this.

However, you will not be able to stop ordinary Pakistanis accessing these sites through multitudes of proxies and VPN services, a lot of them available for free. Essentially, you'll also make it harder for them to access it, but not deny access totally.

You'll be causing untold collateral damage, we are living in the age of information, I am typing this thousands of miles away from you and you are receiving this even now, if I were to explain this to someone from 100 or 200 years ago, they would think that these are superpowers or blessings from the divine. And as such, the economy of today, the culture of today is based upon current technology of the current age. The industrial revolution spawned human progress like no other event, the information age is of the same magnitude. And you would be unwise to deny your countrymen access to two of the biggest players in this age, namely facebook and youtube.

You know what the average Pakistani student uses youtube for? Not for viewing blasphemous content, but maybe for leisure and music, maybe even for lecture videos and for learning, there are generations of engineers and scientists who are being trained almost solely by youtube and online resources, and their learning is then merely accredited and appropriated by universities. How do you justify denying access to that wealth of information for the small amount of blasphemous content that is out there, that as I already stated is far less of an issue to ordinary people than losing access to vital resources would be?

Furthermore, facebook in particular, no-one I know uses this for viewing blasphemous content or offensive anti-Islamic material. Some kids waste their time on it sure, but that's the case for anything that can be used for leisure. Instead, I use facebook to keep in touch with distant family members. I've even set up a facebook account for my grandmother, so that she can easily view photos we upload of the family elsewhere. Other than those instances, many Pakistani businesses run on facebook and advertise using it. I know kids that run their own photography and online ad businesses for whom fb is a vital resource.

And please do not claim that 'alternatives' can be found. It takes years of totally dedicated service, millions even billions of users, you can't find alternatives for that without totally degrading the purpose of it. There are several hundred petabytes of data on youtube, uploaded freely by individuals, that can't be replicated by anti-blasphemy causes and movements seeking alternatives.

If you think you can find a viable alternative, I'm sorry, but you can't. That is a FANTASY!

Also, last nail in the coffin is, by doing this, you are not actively removing the content that you dislike, you're basically stabbing yourself in the eyes so that you might not be offended by its sight. And even then the purpose of such a ban is defeated by the inevitable access many Pakistanis will seek out through proxies.

I'll suggest an alternative:

Leave youtube and fb alone, if you're protesting content posted on it, report the content. If you take great offence, stop using it, just don't deny other people access. Or if you see it, you've reported it, ignore it and move on...
Go on with your daily lives, there's so much more modern media than tiny irrelevant cases of offensive content, and don't make a mountain out of a molehill, you're serving the purposes of those who seek to provoke you.

 

[VCheng]

I'll suggest an alternative:

Leave youtube and fb alone, if you're protesting content posted on it, report the content. If you take great offence, stop using it, just don't deny other people access. Or if you see it, you've reported it, ignore it and move on...
Go on with your daily lives, there's so much more modern media than tiny irrelevant cases of offensive content, and don't make a mountain out of a molehill, you're serving the purposes of those who seek to provoke you.

All well and good, but the real goal here is that a small minority has taken upon itself the role to arbitrate what others can or cannot watch or do. Your solution is anathema to them. They are the real problem, not FB or YT.

 

[Jungibaaz]

All well and good, but the real goal here is that a small minority has taken upon itself the role to arbitrate what others can or cannot watch or do. Your solution is anathema to them. They are the real problem, not FB or YT.

Unfortunately, they and their concerns can't be wished away or explained away, as you've probably already witnessed. This essentially is a resort to damage control. Besides, I don't expect those that advocate draconian and
ill-conceived reactions to be swayed so soon by dissenting opinion, especially from the likes of internet liberals like yours truly. Overtime they might change, and I'd rather entertain that possibility for now.

 

[VCheng]

Unfortunately, they and their concerns can't be wished away or explained away, as you've probably already witnessed. This essentially is a resort to damage control. Besides, I don't expect those that advocate draconian and
ill-conceived reactions to be swayed so soon by dissenting opinion, especially from the likes of internet liberals like yours truly. Overtime they might change, and I'd rather entertain that possibility for now.

I like your optimism, but please keep in mind that they would not help any change over time that would reduce their hold on control that they have spent decades building up. Why would they? Religious demagoguery is a potent drug, Sir.

 

[Jungibaaz]

I like your optimism, but please keep in mind that they would not help any change over time that would reduce their hold on control that they have spent decades building up. Why would they? Religious demagoguery is a potent drug, Sir.

Give it time, I'm always optimistic, but I don't underestimate or mistake these issues either.

 

[Bloom 17]

Could anyone tell me do you guys get international news channels in Pakistan like BBC CNN and other?
I personally think Pakistan has to come out of the cocoon it build around itself. The mass public has to be exposed to the outside world.thats the only way moving forward. The religion department should be separated from the country's administration. The day that happens Pakistan will be seeing its actual progress.

 

[VCheng]

Give it time, I'm always optimistic, but I don't underestimate or mistake these issues either.

Nearly 70 years and still waiting, Sir. Patiently.

 

[My-Analogous]

Could anyone tell me do you guys get international news channels in Pakistan like BBC CNN and other?
I personally think Pakistan has to come out of the cocoon it build around itself. The mass public has to be exposed to the outside world.thats the only way moving forward. The religion department should be separated from the country's administration. The day that happens Pakistan will be seeing its actual progress.

LOL, It is India who is doing this and you guys lecturing us. We have all International channels we can watch which includes Indian as well. Tell me where India standing in case of Pakistani channels. India even banned our entertainment channels.

 

[Jugger]

Why not just ban the internet, it will bring the chances of encountering blasphemous content down to zero percent, surely if we follow the logic this is only a natural conclusion?

Ban internet, ban music, ban banks, ban western education, ban everything. Throw out all the people who disagree with you and wall the place up.