YouTube, the online video sharing giant, on which the Government of Pakistan had imposed a Ban, went back online in Pakistan after the IT Ministry lifted the restrictions. YouTube was amongst the 1,200 URLs, which were blocked access after a row about the “blasphemous” content on the Internet. YouTube is the 3rd most searched or visited page from Pakistan and enjoys great customer database which results to billions of dollars in revenue.
An official word from the ministry included:
“YouTube has been unblocked but the links to sacrilegious content would remain inaccessible in Pakistan.”
Even after the ban was lifted, some 550 URLs on the site remained blocked along with the other 1200 URLs. Internet Service Providers continued to block material leading to such URLs. The clampdown started after a Facebook user organized a contest to draw the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH), naming it draw Mohammad Day. This sparked the Muslim community, which took to roads and protested upon which the Lahore High Court ordered Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) to block all such content.
Traffic to YouTube amounted to 25 percent which later increased by another 8 percent after the ban was lifted. Muslims continue to protest as they wait for the hearing to proceed on Monday regarding Facebook ban.
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