The three years that began from 2013 and ended in 2016 saw YouTube being completely banned in Pakistan. However, this wasn’t the first time that the leading video platform was subject to a ban in the country as it along with some other social media platforms such as Facebook had been banned prior to 2013.
The ban which was imposed from 2013 to 2016 meant that there was a huge loss in talent and earning capabilities. Indeed a large number of content creators that were reliant on the platform to express themselves as well as express their views were handicapped of such possibilities. Also, while all across the globe we have seen YouTubers having millions and millions of subscribers, the same cannot be said about Pakistani YouTubers due to the fact that we as a nation and entertainers are catching up – perhaps the biggest consequence of the ban.
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The Supreme Court of Pakistan has gone on to indicate that the ban might be taken into consideration due to the fact that YouTube contains objectionable content which many might find offence to or indeed find personal. With that said, the court suggested that if anything objectionable is found related to any European country or in fact the US on the platform – it eventually goes on to removed. While the first part is without doubt true, the fact of the matter remains – there are thousands and thousands of conspiracy theory videos as well hate speech ones amongst others related to both the US as well as EU countries that are found on YouTube and hence the matter of offensive content is a global one – not just being limited to Pakistan.
Diplomatic relations aren’t too likely to get any better with regards to such a decision taking place – and no less the attractiveness of investing within the country. Indeed while we wonder as to why companies from abroad such as PayPal, Google and other don’t invest within Pakistan, decisions such as these are probably why. Foreign investors need security for their investments, and the volatile manner with which decisions seem to be taken by the higher powers within Pakistan leads to the image of a hostile investing environment.
Of course the main argument against such a decision would be all the inflow of cash that is brought because of YouTube and all the people within the country that enjoy the benefits of employment because of the video platform. Considering this factor coupled with all the people that use YouTube as their main entertainment front – especially in times such as these when more and more people are encouraged to stay inside and it wouldn’t be too surprising to see an outrage from the public anytime soon. Whether the decision is imposed remains to be seen – however, much care needs to he taken before any drastic measures are adopted.
