Banning YouTube not a solution: SAPM Tania Aidrus

ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to the PM on Digital Pakistan Tania Aidrus has expressed concern that banning a platform like YouTube is not a solution.

Tania Aidrus took to Twitter and wrote that the three years ago when YouTube was banned in Pakistan it held back our content creator ecosystem which has just started to flourish now.

Banning a platform like YouTube is not a solution. The 3 years when YouTube was banned in Pakistan it held back our content creator ecosystem which has just started to flourish now, creating employment opportunities for thousands.

— Tania Aidrus (@taidrus) July 22, 2020

“Banning a platform like YouTube is not a solution. The 3 years when YouTube was banned in Pakistan it held back our content creator ecosystem which has just started to flourish now, creating employment opportunities for thousands,” he wrote.

Aidrus further wrote that our focus should be on ensuring better curation of content through policy and dialogue. “Brute force measures like banning will not serve any purpose and will hold us back from achieving the vision of #DigitalPakistan,” she added.

Our focus should be on ensuring better curation of content through policy and dialogue. Brute force measures like banning will not serve any purpose and will hold us back from achieving the vision of #DigitalPakistan.

— Tania Aidrus (@taidrus) July 22, 2020

Read more: Tania Aidrus vows to bring Paypal, cryptocurrency to Pakistan

Yesterday, the Supreme Court has taken notice of objectionable content on social media platforms and hinted at banning Youtube

Justice Qazi Muhammad Amin and Justice Mushir Alam were on the bench hearing a case against suspect Shaukat Ali, involved in a sectarian crime.

While hinting at shutting down YouTube in Pakistan, Justice Qazi Amin remarked, “We are not against freedom of expression and people have the right to discuss our decisions as we take salaries from public money.”

He added that the Constitution also grants us the right to privacy. “YouTube and social media users are targeting our families,” he further stated. He further added that masses were provoked against the judiciary and other state institutions of the country.

Justice Mushir Alam remarked that YouTube is closed in many countries. “Content against the United States and the European Union should be displayed on YouTube. In many countries, social media is regulated under local laws,” he stated.

Justice Amin asked how many people were prosecuted for such crimes and remarked that people are incited against the army, judiciary, and government on social media.