Non-cooperation may lead to ban on social media, gaming websites, warns PTA
- By Abdul Qadir -
- Jul 28, 2020
KARACHI: Chairman Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Major General (retd) Amir Azeem on Tuesday warned of shutting down websites of social media and online gaming platforms in the country over non-cooperation of the concerned companies, ARY NEWS reported.
He said this while talking to a group of Youtube Vloggers along with Prime Minister Imran Khan’s focal person on Social Media Arsalan Khalid, who called on him to discuss restrictions on social media platforms.
The meeting also discussed the proposed rules and regulations for social media platforms. The PTA chairman said that there was no chance of immediate restoration of the PUBG game as the gaming company was not cooperating with the local authorities.
“We will not restore the gaming platform unless a proper response is received from the company,” he said.
Amir Azeem said that they respect the court orders and would implement them, however, they have received several complaints regarding PUBG from different circles.
Punjab police have also raised the issue with us over rising incidents of suicides due to the PUBG game, he said and warned of registering cases against the company in case of its non-compliance.
He said that the social media platforms neither have their offices nor representatives in Pakistan.
“In this scenario, we have the last option to ban the website over non-cooperation,” announced the PTA chairman while saying that they were not in favour of restricting social media platforms, however, the other side should also cooperate with the authorities.
Read More: PUBG to remain blocked till probe completion: PTA
The Youtube authorities are also not extending effective cooperation, he said while shedding light on the reservations of the apex court on the material posted on the platform but denied receiving any orders to ban Youtube in the country.
Amir Azeem said that Tik Tok and Bigo have started cooperation with the local authorities and the former also removed 3.8 million links over complaints.
Facebook has extended better cooperation as compared to other platforms, he said and added that Youtube and PUBG cooperated least with the authorities.