Pakistan has threatened to block Wikipedia on its territory, if the online participatory encyclopedia does not remove by Friday, February 3, content it considers "
blasphemous
".
Social media giants Facebook and YouTube have been blocked in the past for the same reason in this Muslim country, where the issue of blasphemy is particularly sensitive.
Ultimatum
The Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) announced on Wednesday that it had given Wikipedia until Friday evening to remove the content in question, on which it did not provide any details.
In the meantime, the encyclopedia will operate in "
degraded
" mode, its access in the country being restricted, the PTA had indicated.
Some Wikipedia pages have already been censored in the past in Pakistan.
A “disproportionate” ban
Defenders of freedom of expression have long criticized the censorship imposed by various governments and their control over the internet and the media.
"
The ban is disproportionate, unconstitutional and frankly ridiculous
," said Usama Khilji, a digital rights advocate.
“
It will affect students, academia, health sector, researchers, and limit investor confidence in Pakistan due to uncertainty and arbitrary censorship
,” he added. .
Previous censorships
Pakistan blocked Facebook for two weeks in 2010 after posting allegedly blasphemous content.
YouTube remained inaccessible there from 2012 to 2016 due to the broadcast of an Islamophobic amateur film which sparked violent protests in many countries.
More recently, the popular video-sharing platform TikTok has been repeatedly blocked in the country for content deemed "
indecent
" and "
immoral
".
