[Pakistan] PTCL to block all objectionable websites

["Irfan Khan" <khania2@super.net.pk>]

---------- Forwarded message ----------


The News International Pakistan
December 27, 2003


PTCL to block all objectionable websites 
60pc of Internet traffic currently directed towards such sites
By Imran Ayub


KARACHI: Pakistan Telecommunications Company (PTCL) has asked FLAG 
Telecom - PTCL’s international Internet transit provider - to block 
all pornographic and 'objectionable' websites on its backbone to 
Pakistan. "We started blocking adult sites and other objectionable 
sites in February this year through PIE (Pakistan Internet 
Exchange)," said an official of the PTCL. "Through PIE, we can only 
block sites which are browsed locally. Now the FLAG, under an 
agreement, would block all these sites even for our international 
browsers," said the official. In February 2003, the PTCL - the 
country's only Internet backbone provider - started blocking 
objectionable websites, following instructions by the federal 
minister for IT and telecom. "More than 60 per cent of an estimated 
one million Internet users in Pakistan visit pornographic sites," 
disclosed the PTCL official. "Starting from February, so far we have 
identified and blocked over 3,000 of them," he said. Every week, the 
PIE updates the list of banned sites hoping people would turn to 
other, informative sites, the PTCL official said. However, he 
admitted, a recently conducted survey showed that the ban had yet to 
prove fruitful as majority of the Internet browsers were still 
successful in accessing adult websites. "But still our data shows 
that 25 to 30 per cent users are trying to visit the banned sites," 
he said. On the other hand, the country's ISPs claim that the ban on 
objectionable websites would slow down the browsing speed of the 
Internet, which, they said, was not up to the mark. "There is no 
doubt that the Internet has been providing an easy access to the 
browsers and particularly to teenagers worldwide," said V A Abidi, 
General Secretary ISPs' Association of Pakistan. "But the fact is 
that by blocking these sites, the Internet speed would definitely 
slow down," he said arguing: "You can't stop the evils of emerging 
technologies. The only way is to educate your people." The Sindh IT 
Board has already suggested various cyber-security measures to 
protect information data, and filtration of different types of 
content declaring creation of a national Internet control switch, 
ideal in the situation.  


http://jang.com.pk/thenews/dec2003-daily/27-12-
2003/business/index.html