YouTube Case Media Round up

The media reports on Lahore High Court's proceedings in the YouTube case:


 From Pakistan Today:

The Lahore High Court on Friday asked for assistance from the Ministry of information and Technology regarding the ban imposed on YouTube. Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah passed on the order whilst hearing a petition forwarded by a nongovernmental organization (NGO) and directed the federal government to take Google’s point of view in the matter which is the parent company of YouTube.The website was banned when Google refused to remove a video from YouTube which contained Blasphemous content. At the time, Pakistan and Google did not have an agreement which would allow the country to censor content itself. Now, however a spokesman from the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has stated that they will have the authority to censor content themselves in another four months.The court directed the Minister of Information and Technology (Dr Sania NIshtar) to appear before the court and appoint a representative who would assist the court in the matter.The court also requested that the Ministry talk to Google’s administration in Singapore to get their point of view on the matter and also attempt to get a representative from Google who could appear in court on May 17.The court further stated that the hearing would resume on May 3. - See more at: http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2013/04/27/city/lahore/lhc-directs-government-to-talk-to-google-regarding-youtube-ban/#sthash.bWEphdrQ.dpuf

From Dawn.com

 LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) sought on Friday assistance of the Ministry of Information and Technology on a petition challenging the ban on YouTube, a widely used social media website, and directed the federal government to seek the point of view of Google administration based in Singapore.

Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah issued the order on a petition moved by local NGO ‘Bytes for All’ challenging the ban imposed by the former government last year on the YouTube for exhibiting blasphemous material.
YouTube is a subsidiary of Google.
The government had decided to continue the ban after the Google administration refused to remove the blasphemous material.
Almost all Muslim countries had strongly protested against the blasphemous videos uploaded on the social media website.
During the course of hearing, a deputy attorney general told the court that the federal government was willing to lift the ban but the blasphemous material was still there.
The deputy attorney general pointed out that there was no agreement between Pakistan and the Google under which the government could censor controversial material.
A representative of Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) told the court that like several countries, China, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, Pakistan would also be able in about four months to censor controversial and undesirable stuff from websites.
Justice Shah issued a notice asking IT Minister Dr Sania Nishtar to appear personally before the court or depute a responsible official of the ministry to assist the court on the matter.
The judge also directed the federal government to approach the Google administration in Singapore and seek their point of view.
He also asked the government to arrange, if possible, the appearance of a Google representative in the court on May 17.
The court would resume hearing on May 3 to the extent of the response of the Ministry of Information and Technology.
The NGO had said the ban amounted to infringing upon fundamental rights about reading and acquiring knowledge. It said a large number of people had been affected by the ban.

From Express Tribune:

 LAHORE: 

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday sought assistance from the Ministry of Information and Technology on a ban imposed on Youtube (the video sharing website) and directed the federal government to seek the point of view of Google, the parent company of the website.Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah passed the order while hearing a petition moved by a non-governmental organisation, Bytes for All. The petition challenges the ban on Youtube imposed by the previous government over displaying blasphemous material last year.
The government had decided to continue the ban after the Google administration refused to remove the blasphemous material. Almost all Islamic countries had strongly protested the blasphemous videos on the website.
During the hearing, a deputy attorney general told the court that the federal government was willing to lift the ban but blasphemous material was still available on the website. He pointed out that there was no agreement between Pakistan and Google that would enable the country to censor itself.
A representative of Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) told the court that the authority would be able to censor controversial and undesired material over the internet like China, Iran, Saudi Arabia and UAE, in the next four months.
Justice Shah issued a notice to Ministry of Information and Technology and said the minister (Dr Sania Nishtar) may appear personally before the court or depute a responsible official to assist the court on the matter. The judge directed the government to approach Google administration in Singapore and seek their point of view. The judge also asked the government to manage appearance of Google representative in the court on May 17, if possible. The court would resume hearing on May 3. The petitioner had pleaded that the impugned ban infringed the basic right to information. It said a large number of people had been affected by the ban.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 27^th, 2013.Read more: YouTubeban