Published in the January 2014 edition of the All Pakistan Law Decisions Journal Section, “Why the YouTube Ban is Illegal and Undesirable” by lawyer Babar Sattar, discusses the legality of the YouTube ban and actions of authorities involved, including their mandate and role. It discusses how their actions correspond with fundamental rights – or don’t – and the balance that needs to be struck.
The following areas are addressed in greater detail:
Legality of Government’s Direction to Block Access to YouTube
The Test of Reasonableness and Striking the Right Balance Between Competing Rights
Internet, Information Age and Moral Panic
Guarding Moral Virtue vs Maintaining Public Order
Download PLD scanned version here: “Why the YouTube Ban is Illegal and Undesirable”
Clear copy here
Watch Bolo Bhi’s video interview with Babar Sattar on this here: Internet Censorship, Law and Fundamental Rights
About The Author
Farieha Aziz
Farieha Aziz is a Karachi-based, APNS-awardwinning journalist. She is a co-founder and Director at Bolo Bhi. She has a masters in English literature. She worked with Newsline from July 2007-January 2012 and taught literature to grades 9-12. She served as an amicus curiae in a case filed in the Lahore High Court in 2013, challenging the ban on YouTube, and is currently a petitioner on behalf of Bolo Bhi in a case filed in the Islamabad High Court challenging government's censorship on the Internet and the powers of the regulator. She can be found on Twitter: @FariehaAziz and reached via email: farieha@bolobhi.org