AfterDawn: News

Pakistan unblocks Facebook

Pakistan has unblocked popular social networking site Facebook today, after two weeks of banning access.

The country will continue to block any individual pages that contain "blasphemous" content, however, which mostly means any page that has an image of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.



The ban went into effect earlier in the month when an online competition started that invited Facebook users to submit drawings of Muhammad. Any image, satirical or not, is considered blasphemous.

Pakistan also censored YouTube and Wikipedia along with over 50 other sites, but most have been unblocked in the past week.

Knowledgeable users worked around the bans at first by using proxy sites with foreign proxies, but officials then blocked all proxy sites as well.

This weekend, Bangladesh also banned Facebook, but said it would only lift the block when all offending material was taken down.

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 31 May 2010 21:54

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• 10 comments

• KillerBug

  "Knowledgeable users worked around the bans at first by using proxy sites with foreign proxies, but officials then blocked all proxy sites as well."
  
  That's what private VPNs are for.

  31.5.2010 22:31 #1

• attar

  What irony, Face-book where the the face is required to be bagged up.

  1.6.2010 12:53 #2

• DXR88

  Quick get me a picture of Muhammad.

  1.6.2010 20:15 #3

• Jeniferaustin

  Unblocking facebook is not a good act of Pakistan government, they should keep blocking this website until the facebook owner apologies for his dirty act.
  Mera Pakistan

  2.6.2010 02:12 #4

• Howie696

  Why not block every website in the world in case they feature a picture of the prophet? (Jihad expected immediately)

  2.6.2010 04:48 #5

• KillerBug

  Makes sense...if they blocked all sites, then people would be more willing to find ways around the blocks. It worked in China; they have had so many blocks that most "techies" do everything through a VPN now.

  2.6.2010 04:57 #6

• blueboy09

  Originally posted by Jeniferaustin: Unblocking facebook is not a good act of Pakistan government, they should keep blocking this website until the facebook owner apologies for his dirty act.
  Mera Pakistan Agreed, but don't see that happening soon. Has too much money and a big head to boot. Until he gets his off his high horse, they'll be more counties banning Facebook.
  

  Life is about walking on thin ice, if you make too much drama, youll crack under pressure. - BLUEBOY

  2.6.2010 21:43 #7

• blaster4

  "Unblocking facebook is not a good act of Pakistan government, they should keep blocking this website until the facebook owner apologies for his dirty act.
  Mera Pakistan"
  
  I think you'd better join the REAL world. This censorship might work in the Islamic states that still live in the middle ages but it's got nothing to do with today's world. If computers are the devil's work, why use them? If the contents of Facebook disgust you, why are you using it? Facebook doesn't disgust me so I don't seek any apology.
  

  11.6.2010 13:13 #8

• Howie696

  I'm sure the whole of Pakistan's IT savvy population are issuing a solemn thank you to the government for their magnanimous gesture. Of course if the government weren't still grubbing around in the dark ages then the ban would never have happened.
  As for blasphemy, blas for you, blas for them. Personally I think all religion sucks.
  And rabid fervent die hard fanatics who are so twitchy as to describe everything as blasphemous should be locked in a room together to debate which is the true religion/deity until there are none of them left, and let the rest of us get on with our secular lives.

  12.6.2010 07:32 #9

• Mez

  Who would believe, this article seems to have the most sane posters. None of you are barking mad! I am staggered by this especially with the topic. AD is becoming completely certifiable. Maybe you all are MY kind of certifiable.

  12.6.2010 22:26 #10