ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has banned use of social media and popular video streaming website YouTube across all its offices in the country.
The notification has also been issued by ECP Deputy Director Syed A. Rahman Zafar in this regard.
A letter sent to the provincial election commissioners of Sindh, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan said blocking the social media sites on ECP offices “will minimise malware attacks and ensure the discipline of using electronic resources up to the optimum level.”
Read: Pakistan unblocks YouTube — ban lifted after 3 years & 4 months
The notification further adds “…the Competent Authority has directed to block social media websites (i.e. Youtube, Facebook, Twitter etc.) on all networks of ECP secretariat as well as PEC offices including field offices with immediate effect,” reads the letter dated March 31.
The letter also directs the provincial election commissioners to ensure the blockage of social media and streaming sites immediately through the cooperation of provincial general managers of PTCL and National Telecommunication Corporation (NTC).
In 2016, Pakistan, Indonesia, the Palestinian territories, Bangladesh, and Nepal were reported to have attracted the highest rates of attempted malware attacks in the Microsoft Corp report.
