Pakistan’s IT minister voices against YouTube ban

Pakistan tech industry is perturbed these days over the recent actions of Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) involving banning streaming app Bigo, and warning another app TikTok.

The situation was further tense after the Supreme Court hinted on suggesting banning video streaming platform YouTube, over concerns regarding the presence of vulgar content on social media.

With many criticizing the development, Syed Amin ul Haque, the Minister for IT and telecommunication has too voiced against such a move saying that “banning anything means obstructing its growth.”

The minister while talking to Arab News admitted that the livelihoods of thousands of individuals in the country are now associated with YouTube, and is a good source of learning and education.” I think YouTube is a good channel and its activities could be taken forward positively.”

“Ban is not the solution to the problems, instead it could be improved through filtration,” said Haque.

Earlier, Tania Aidrus, Head of Prime Minister’s Digital Pakistan gave a similar statement saying that such a move will hamper the country from achieving its Digital Pakistan vision.

“Banning a platform like YouTube is not a solution. The three 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,” tweeted Aidrus.

Meanwhile, talking about Pakistan’s budding IT industry, the minister informed that the government had set a target of $5 billion for IT exports in the next three years. “We are confident that the target will be achieved,” says Haque.