The Pakistani government blocked access to Facebook on Wednesday because a single user-created page on the site encourages visitors to post images of the Prophet Muhammad. On Thursday, the Pakistani government blocked access to YouTube in a growing crackdown on Internet sites that might be considered offensive by the country's majority Muslim population. Access to Wikipedia, a user-generated online encyclopedia, and photo-sharing site Flickr was also restricted on Thursday.The government now blocks more than 450 Internet sites. "The Pakistan Telecommunications Authority did not point to specific material on YouTube that prompted it to block the site, only citing 'growing sacrilegious contents,' " the Associated Press reported. "The government took action against both Facebook and YouTube after it failed to persuade the websites to remove the 'derogatory material,' the regulatory body said in a statement." The regulatory body, it seems, is open to allowing access to the sites once again if executives reach out to resolve the dispute. Facebook will be blocked only temporarily for the time being because a group of Islamic lawyers won a court order that restricts access until the end of May. The page that sparked the legal battle encouraged users to post pictures of Muhammad as a way to protest the threats made against the creators ofSouth Park by a radial Muslim group after the show depicted Muhammad in a bear suit. "The page sparked protests from radical students in Pakistan, with some holding signs urging Islamic holy war against those who blaspheme the prophet," the Associated Press reported.
Read original story in The Associated Press | Thursday, May 20, 2010
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