ISLAMABAD, JUL 9: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) on Wednesday expressed concern over the recent court decision banning 27 YouTube channels as the government said the owners were expected to face criminal action.
It emerged a day ago that an Islamabad court last month ordered YouTube to block 27 channels for disseminating “fake, misleading, and defamatory” content against the government and armed forces.
Among the 27 sanctioned accounts — run by journalists, political commentators and social media influencers in Pakistan and overseas — are those of the PTI, Matiuallah Jan, Wajahat Khan, Ahmad Noorani and Asad Ali Toor, Imran Riaz, Orya Maqbool, Sabir Shakir, and Moeed Pirzada.
In a statement on X, HRCP said that it was “greatly concerned” by the court’s directive.
“The wholesale blocking of entire channels — rather than addressing specific instances of unlawful or hateful speech in accordance with due process — conflates dissent with criminal activity,” the statement said.
“The constitutional right to freedom of expression is fundamental not only for individual liberty but also for ensuring government accountability, fostering debate and enabling the public to access a diversity of viewpoints,” the HRCP said, urging “precise and proportionate” interventions against hate speech.
Separately, Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry said that these channels would also face criminal action.
Speaking to the media earlier today, he said, “The whole world, including Pakistan, has laws regulating cybercrime and cybersecurity. Those laws must be followed.” He added, “You cannot use [your] mobile and social media to spread anarchy.”
YouTube told the 27 content creators that their channels could be taken down if they did not comply with the court orders.
“If you fail to do so, as per our local law obligations, we may comply with the request without further notice,” the popular video sharing platform said in emails this week to the channel owners, according to a notice seen by Reuters.
Toor, who has more than 333,000 YouTube subscribers, said the move was aimed at undermining fundamental and constitutional rights of the people, political parties and other dissident groups.
“It is not about me. It is about these people who are on the left side of the state,” he told Reuters.
“I have dedicated my platform for these underdogs who have no place to go to and raise their voices against state oppression.”
YouTube’s regional communications manager did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for a comment. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Digital rights campaigners say that any ban would further undermine free speech in the country and accuse the authorities of stifling newspapers and television, with social media seen as one of the few outlets for dissent.
Digital rights activist Usama Khilji said the court did not fulfil due process.
“What is jarring is the complete lack of legal process,” he said.
Toor said neither the court nor the cybercrime agency gave him a chance to respond to the allegations, and that he would be taking legal action against the court order.
“It is a dictatorial move. It can’t silence me,” he said
On March 20, Farhan Mallick, the founder of media agency Raftar and a former news director at Samaa TV, was arrested in Karachi and booked under Peca as well as the Pakistan Penal Code in a case related to alleged anti-state content on his YouTube channel.
The arrest was met with widespread criticism from media bodies as well as rights activists.
He was granted bail in April in the many cases against him pertaining to allegedly “anti-state” content and data theft through a call centre.
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority lifted the ban on X in May after the platform was inaccessible to users for more than a year.
The social media platform was blocked in February 2024, around 10 days after the general elections, while the caretaker government was still in power.
In April 2024, the interior ministry told the Islamabad High Court that X didn’t adhere to the government’s directives to stop the “misuse of its platform”. The ban was imposed “in the interest of upholding national security, maintaining public order, and preserving the integrity of our nation”.
Migration to YouTube
After the government clamped down on traditional media, many independent-minded reporters migrated to YouTube, as did journalists and commentators sympathetic to former prime minister Imran Khan, who was removed from office in 2022.
“It’s not only about anchors getting fired or YouTube channels getting banned. It’s what they are not allowing to be told and the human rights abuse they are trying to hide from the world,” said PTI leader Zulfikar Bukhari.
“In this day and age you can’t suppress digital media,” he added.
The order is the latest in a series of laws and regulations from the government that have enabled the authorities to crack down on critics and dissidents. It has blocked social media platforms X, Facebook and TikTok on several occasions.
In January, parliament introduced a new amendment in the Electronic Crimes Act to further regulate cyber content, which included a new social media regulatory authority with its own investigation agency and tribunals.
Such tribunals will be able to try and punish alleged offenders with prison sentences of as long as three years and fines of two million rupees for dissemination of information deemed “false or fake”.
