Pakistan Blocks Wikipedia Site Because It Is Suspected Of Showing Asusila And Anti-Islamic Content

JAKARTA Wikipedia sites have been blocked in Pakistan due to "assusalous" content on the site. This was first reported by Bloomberg News. The ban comes after the Pakistani government ordered the site to remove offensive content within 48 hours, and the country's telecommunications authority "depleted" the site's services.

It is currently unclear what was requested to be removed by Wikipedia, although Bloomberg reports that it is still in talks with Pakistani officials.

The Pakistani government stated that it has the right to block if there is a page or content deemed inconsistent with the norms and values adopted by the Pakistani people.

Wikimedia, the foundation responsible for Wikipedia, did not immediately respond to The Verge's request for comment on the matter. According to research from the OpenNet Initiative, Pakistan blocks sites that have content it deems blaspheming, anti-Islamic, or threatening internal security.

Pakistan has blocked several major sites in the past. The Pakistani government blocked Wikipedia in 2005 and 2006 due to pages containing material deemed slanderous and harassing Islam. This blocking was also carried out to address security issues and limit access to information that was not in accordance with government views. However, in 2015, it was reopened.

Pakistan also banned YouTube. YouTube was banned in Pakistan in 2008. This blocking was carried out because of a video that was deemed harassing Islam. This blocking lasted until 2016, when the Pakistani government decided to reopen access to the site.

In 2020 and 2021, they did the same to TikTok, citing complaints about "sexual / indecent content" shared in the app. The ban was later lifted after TikTok met the terms and conditions determined by the Pakistani government.

Wikipedia is no stranger to censorship and reactions from other countries. There is even an article on the site dedicated to tracking it down. Recently, the editor of the site was arrested in Belarus. Even Russia threatened to block the site if it did not change the information on pages covering the country's invasion of Ukraine.

Russia has temporarily blocked Wikipedia before, and the site has also been banned in countries such as Turkey, China and Myanmar. But some other countries block certain articles and content.

The Indonesian government has blocked several pages of certain articles on Wikipedia in 2014 and 2015. However, in 2019 the government announced that it was discontinuing the practice of blocking websites, including Wikipedia.