Facebook takes down 85% blasphemous content after Pakistan’s request

A bench of the Islamabad High Court was told that team of 25 people is searching sacrilegious material on social media

By: PTI News Agency |
March 27, 2017 4:58 pm

Facebook is heeding to Pakistan’s request over blasphemous content from the social networking site and almost 85 per cent of such material has been taken down, an official said on Monday.

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Chairman informed a bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) that a team of 25 people is searching sacrilegious material on social media, the News International reported.

According to the regulator, the PTA has initiated action against owners of 40 such pages.

The bench was informed this when it resumed the hearing of a petition filed against blasphemous content on social media.

Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui had earlier observed that the court would decide whether Facebook should be banned in Pakistan.

The court had directed the PTA to present a fresh report about the measures taken to stop the practice on social media.

“Facebook has now removed blasphemous material from its platform and the company is now acting on our request. It is our success that they are doing this as earlier the company was not even considering it a serious matter,” he said.

The Interior Secretary apprised the court about the steps taken by the government in this regard. The law enforcement agencies have arrested three persons who were involved in this heinous crime, he said.

The government has formed an investigation committee. Almost 85 percent of blasphemous content has been removed, and shutting down Facebook is not the solution, he said.