Pakistan Internet Content Regulator Asks Twitter To Take Down A 'Blasphemous' Search
As more countries enforce their local laws on offensive content, the Chilling Effects takedown clearinghouse is becoming a strange place to hang out. Russia's Roskomnadzor has been particularly active, targeting Twitter users and bloggers who post anything that violates that entity's sensibilities -- most of which seems to be related to drug use or suicide. The UK's elastic defamation laws have led to several requests for content removal, some of which are requested without any court decision in the requester's favor. The new EU court decision ordering Google to "forget" certain links will undoubtedly see an influx of whitewashing requests in the near future.
Pakistan's Telecommunications Authority (PTA) has started its own censorious efforts, mainly targeting anything that doesn't comply with the government-approved religion. A recent request by the PTA asks for the removal of "un-ethical" tweets and a "blasphemous URL." Its overreach knows no bounds.


