UK Copyright Review Hardly Surprising Or... >>
<< University Of Michigan Library Kicks Off...
 tdicon 

Free Speech

by Mike Masnick

Wed, May 18th 2011 1:09am




Filed Under:
blocks, pakistan

Companies:
facebook


Pakistan Hasn't Banned Facebook Yet... But It Might Soon

from the overreact-much? dept

Last year, we reported on an attempt to ban Facebook throughout all of Pakistan, due to a group on the site that some Muslims found offensive (the group was supporting an "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day!" following a controversy on that subject). It seemed positively silly to ban an entire site based on how one small group of people used that site, but we've seen it happen in a number of countries. Apparently there was a ruling on this that was made back in February, but was just released, which, while sympathetic to the idea of banning Facebook, decided not to issue the ban. Of course, the EFF report on this also notes that a new petition to ban Facebook is going to be heard later this week anyway, so there will be yet another chance to completely block the site due to how a few folks used it. That original post from last year got a bunch of comments from Pakistan defending the idea of blocking Facebook, but I'm still at a loss to see how it makes sense to block an entire site over a single particular use.

11 Comments | Leave a Comment

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

Reader Comments (rss)

(Flattened / Threaded)

  1.  
    icon
    jakerome (profile), May 18th, 2011 @ 1:12am

    Seems consistent with proposed US policy

    If the American website is breaking Pakistani laws, seems that an IP ban by Pakistan is about right. In principle, not all that different from clumsy American attempts to ban foreign domains that violate our laws. What's good for the goose is good for the gander, right?

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  2.  
    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, May 18th, 2011 @ 1:45am

    I don't know either, Mike, let's ask the ICE!

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  3.  
    icon
    Rikuo (profile), May 18th, 2011 @ 2:08am

    How does Pakistan know that this group drew an actual picture of Mohammed? They don't have pictures themselves, so for all they know, it's some random Pakistani man with a beard and a turban.
    Hang on...why the ban on pictures? I can somewhat understand if it was a ban on pictures of God, seeing as "oh he's divine and its against divine law to worship lowly pictures of him drawn by man" but wasn't Mohammed considered a man and just a man? (I know, God's last prophet apparently) so...are they now equating this man with God? I thought Islam was against that!

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  4.  
    identicon
    William, May 18th, 2011 @ 2:21am

    Re: Seems consistent with proposed US policy

    And last I looked, Mike doesn't support that either. So it seems like a consistently bad policy, regardless of whether or not the US does it.

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  5.  
    icon
    G Thompson (profile), May 18th, 2011 @ 2:29am

    Soon even Facebook will be banned because the worlds Defender of Democracy the USA says that any website that breaks USA law can be banned, so going by the exulted leadership of the USA other countries will have to follow suit.

    Soon a cry will go out via SMS everywhere.. a cry of loss, a cry to save them from the perils of boredom, a cry to bring back the social platform of their dreams.

    Please somebody.. before it's too late

    THINK OF THE TEENAGERS!

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  6.  
    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, May 18th, 2011 @ 6:13am

    Re:

    They're Muslims, does anything they do make sense?

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  7.  
    icon
    The Devil's Coachman (profile), May 18th, 2011 @ 6:56am

    Pakistan! What a country! Or is it a country?

    Actually, it seems to be more of a cesspool, filled to overflowing with fundamentalist turd morons who screech and wail and slash and burn with little or no provocation. Therefore, who the hell cares what they do within the confines of their own sewer? Not me, for sure. Go ahead. Ban Facebook, Google, CNN, Twitter, and anything else that offends the permanently offended denizens of that hellhole. They can also burn bibles, flags, and each other if it gives them a thrill. It means nothing to the rest of the world. Nothing whatsoever.

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  8.  
    icon
    Ed (profile), May 18th, 2011 @ 7:14am

    Re: Pakistan! What a country! Or is it a country?

    For a moment I was unsure if you were referring to Pakistan or one of a few Southern US states. ;-)

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  9.  
    icon
    Dave Uh... Smith (profile), May 18th, 2011 @ 7:58pm

    tunnelvision

    I think you're suffering from a bit of tunnelvision because stupid insane use of copyright laws is a huge informative part of this site.

    Facebook is used by the revolutionaries to organize all around the Arabic speaking world. I'm currently working in Saudi Arabia and this world is falling apart, country after country. I think that has far more to do with banning FB than people drawing pictures.

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  10.  
    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, Jan 25th, 2012 @ 10:11pm

    Re: Re: Pakistan! What a country! Or is it a country?

    I still can't figure out which he was talking about, seems all of that would fit both quite well.

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  11.  
    icon
    lrobbo (profile), Jun 12th, 2012 @ 10:14am

    I wish they'd block it in the UK too . . .

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]


Add Your Comment

Have a Techdirt Account? Sign in now. Want one? Register here
Get Techdirt’s Daily Email
Save me a cookie
  • Note: A CRLF will be replaced by a break tag (<br>), all other allowable HTML will remain intact
  • Allowed HTML Tags: <b> <i> <a> <em> <br> <strong> <blockquote> <hr> <tt>
UK Copyright Review Hardly Surprising Or... >>
<< University Of Michigan Library Kicks Off...
 tdicon 
Follow Techdirt
Flattr rss rss
A word from our Sponsors...
Sponsored Resource
Essential Reading
Techdirt Reading List
Techdirt Insider Chat

A word from our Sponsors...
Recent Stories

Wednesday

5:00pm: DailyDirt: Graduation Advice To Remember (0)
4:32pm: New Bill Would Stop Patent Trolls From Hiding Behind Shell Companies (5)
3:26pm: Eric Schmidt Still A Fan Of Figuring Out A Way To Erase The Past (10)
2:24pm: Chinese Hacks Of Google Database Of Surveillance Targets Highlight How Dumb Technology Backdoors Are (8)
1:20pm: Released Video From Silva Beating Shows His Last Moments; Video Of Actual Beating Still Missing (37)
12:17pm: AT&T Says You Can Use Any Video Streaming App You Want... Just As Soon As It Can Get The Meter Running (16)
11:14am: Reporters Find Exposed Personal Data Via Google, Threatened With CFAA Charges (45)
10:07am: New York Times Tells Startup It Can't Even Mention The NY Times (40)
9:12am: So It's Come To This: Seven High School Students Arrested For Throwing... Water Balloons (128)
7:50am: First Hand Account Of Judicial Smackdown Of Prenda In Minnesota (99)
More arrow
A word from our Sponsors...

Close

Email This