Popular online encyclopedia Wikipedia has been banned by Pakistan. The decision was taken by the country’s Telecommunications Authority (PTA) for not blocking or removing offensive and defamatory content within the stipulated 48-hour period.
Open, public-source, and easily editable, Wikipedia is recognized by many in the world as the starting point for basic information gathering online. On Wednesday, the PTA had restricted access to Wikipedia’s site after it failed to comply with instructions to remove controversial content from the website.
Regulatory authorities informed that the website has not responded to their requests, or even removed the content in question.
Wikipedia was initially shut down for non-compliance, PTA spokesperson Malahat Obayed told the Dawn. “If Wikipedia removes content identified by regulatory authorities as defamatory, the decision taken against them will be reviewed,” he said.
Online users in Pakistan are now getting a ‘Site Unable to Access’ message when trying to access Wikipedia.