Porn sites targeted in major crackdown by Pakistan authorities
The Supreme Court said 'pornography has an imminent role to corrupt and vitiate the youth of Pakistan'
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Pakistan is reportedly preparing to launch a major crackdown on internet pornography and the country’s telecoms regulator has ordered internet providers to block 400,000 adult websites.
The action follows a recent order passed down by the Supreme Court in Pakistan requiring the telecom sector to “take remedial steps to quantify the nefarious phenomenon of obscenity and pornography that has an imminent role to corrupt and vitiate the youth of Pakistan”.
According to the Express Tribune, just days after the ruling by the Supreme Court, the telecom sector regulator, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), added it had provided internet service providers with a list of 429,343 domains to be blocked as it attempts to control the distribution of pornographic material.
Despite warnings from officials that blocking websites at this level was a “gigantic and costly exercise” the internet service providers are bound to abide by the law set by Pakistani authorities.
This follows a 2011 directive issued by the country’s telecoms regulator which, at the time, told internet service providers to block over 1,000 pornographic websites. This, however, led to a surge in the sale of CDs and DVDs offering similar material.
One entertainment dealer speaking in 2011 in Karachi said to the Express Tribune: “People no longer come here for Hollywood or Bollywood movies. They want porn.”
Afaq added: “If you ask me, almost 90% of our revenue comes from the sale of such content.”
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments