ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Science Minister Fawad Ahmed Chaudhry said on Tuesday he had advised the country’s telecommunications regulator against blanket bans on social media apps and suggested regulations instead that would help the technology industry grow.
His comments came just hours after the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) said it had banned the Singaporean live-streaming app Bigo over “immoral, obscene and vulgar content” and issued a “final warning” to Chinese video sharing platform Tiktok for "similar" reasons.
Earlier this month, PTA also banned the hugely popular online game, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, or PUBG, saying it was addictive, a waste of players’ time and was having an adverse effect on the mental and physical health of the country’s youth.
“I’ve already advised PTA that they should not slap such bans,” Chaudhry said in a phone interview. “All such one-sided bans, I think, won’t help the tech industry.”
“Regulation is something else, ban is something else,” he added. “Regulation? Yes. But, no bans.”
PTA has said it had issued several warnings to social media companies to moderate their content and bring it in line with Pakistani laws, but was not satisfied with the “response.”
Therefore, the regulator said, it had “decided to immediately block Bigo and issue final warning to TikTok to put in place a comprehensive mechanism to control obscenity, vulgarity and immorality through its social media application.”
But Chaudhry said such decisions were not “conducive” to helping Pakistan’s tech industry grow.
The information technology sector is one of the fastest growing sectors in Pakistan and contributes about one percent of GDP at about $3.5 billion, according to government data. IT exports were recorded to be the highest in Pakistan’s history at $1.067 billion in 2017-18, compared to $939 million registered the previous year.
In accordance with the digital policy of Pakistan, announced in 2018, the government aims to achieve an IT export target of $20 billion by 2025.
“Internet is like a library, it’s up to you which kind of book you want to choose,” the science minister said. “If you say the whole library should be shut down because it contains some vulgar books, it’ll obviously not really help Pakistan, especially when Pakistan is growing in the field of technology. Such bans are actually not conducive for the environment.”
Chaudhry also said he was against the ban on PUBG because while Pakistan was the world’s fourth largest software exporter, it was not a significant player in the gaming world.
“We need to take our share [in gaming] because our youth is good at it,” he said.
PTA did not respond to multiple calls and text messages for this story.
Pakistan’s science minister opposes telco regulator’s ban on social media apps
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Pakistan’s science minister opposes telco regulator’s ban on social media apps
- Pakistan Telecommunication Authority has banned Bigo over “obscene and vulgar content” and issued a “final warning” to Tiktok
- Fawad Chaudhry says such bans not "conducive" to helping the technology industry grow in Pakistan
Sri Lanka players ask to leave Pakistan after bombing, board says no
- Sri Lanka are playing three ODIs followed by T20 tri-nation series in Pakistan this month
- Suicide bombing in Islamabad on Tuesday made Sri Lankan players fear for security
Some Sri Lanka cricketers requested to return home from their Pakistan tour on Wednesday for safety reasons after a suicide bombing in Islamabad, but their board issued a stern directive to stay put or face consequences.
Sri Lanka are touring Pakistan, playing three one-day internationals followed by a Twenty20 tri-series along with Zimbabwe this month. Sri Lanka are scheduled to play Pakistan in the second ODI on Thursday in Rawalpindi.
But the bombing, which killed 12 people in Pakistan's capital Islamabad, made several Sri Lankan players ask to go home, the Sri Lanka Cricket board said in a statement. Rawalpindi and Islamabad are twin cities hardly 20 km (12 miles) apart.
"SLC immediately engaged with the players and assured them that all such concerns are being duly addressed in close coordination with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the relevant authorities to ensure the safety and well-being of every member of the touring party," the SLC said.
'CONTINUE WITH TOUR'
"In this context, SLC has instructed all players, support staff and team management to continue with the tour as scheduled," SLC added.
Any player who returns despite the directive will be replaced immediately to avoid disrupting the tour, it said.
If anyone does that, however, "a formal review will be conducted to assess their actions, and an appropriate decision will be made upon the conclusion of the review."
SLC did not respond to a question on the number of players and staff who requested to return home.
Pakistan had been struggling to convince sports teams to visit the country after gunmen attacked a bus carrying touring Sri Lanka cricket players in the city of Lahore in 2009.
At least six players were injured, and visits by international teams came to a halt as Pakistan played their "home" matches in the United Arab Emirates.
But security has improved since then in major urban centers and test cricket returned when Sri Lanka toured in 2019.
In this series, Pakistan won the first ODI, which was also held in Rawalpindi, by six runs on Tuesday.
