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YouTube tells 27 content creators their channels could be

taken

down

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YouTube move comes after Islamabad court sought ban

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Channels at risk include main opposition party, former PM

Imran

Khan, journalists critical of government

By Asif Shahzad and Ariba Shahid

ISLAMABAD, July 9 (Reuters) -

Alphabet-owned YouTube has told more than two

dozen critics of the Pakistani government that it is considering

blocking their channels after a local court sought to ban them

for being "anti-state".

The channels that could be blocked in Pakistan include that

of the main opposition party and also its leader, jailed former

prime minister Imran Khan, as well as journalists critical of

the government, according to the June 24 court order seen by

Reuters.

The judicial magistrate court in Islamabad said it was

seeking the ban after the National Cyber Crime Investigation

Agency (NCCIA) criticised the channels in a June 2 report for

"sharing highly intimidating, provocative and derogatory

contents against state institutions and officials of the state

of Pakistan".

Digital rights campaigners say that any ban would further

undermine free speech in Pakistan, where the authorities are

accused of stifling newspapers and television and social media

is seen as one of the few outlets for dissent.

YouTube told the 27 content creators that their channels

could be taken down if they did not comply with the court

orders.

"If you fail to do so, as per our local law obligations, we

may comply with the request without further notice," the popular

video sharing platform said in emails this week to the channel

owners, according to a notice seen by Reuters.

YouTube's regional communications manager did not

immediately respond to a Reuters request for a comment.

Pakistan's Information Minister Attaullah Tarar also did not

immediately respond to a request for comment.

One of the content creators, Asad Toor, who has more

than 333,000 YouTube subscribers, said the move was aimed at

undermining fundamental and constitutional rights of the people,

political parties and other dissident groups.

"It is not about me. It is about these people who are on the

left side of the state," he told Reuters. "I have dedicated my

platform for these underdogs who have no place to go to and

raise their voices against the state oppression."

MIGRATION TO YOUTUBE

After the government clamped down on traditional media, many

independent-minded reporters migrated to YouTube, as did

journalists and commentators sympathetic to Khan, who was

removed from office in 2022.

"It's not only about anchors getting fired or YouTube

channels getting banned. It's what they are not allowing to be

told and the human rights abuse they are trying to hide from the

world," said Zulfikar Bukhari, a spokesman for Khan's Pakistan

Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.

Khan has said his party has faced a military-backed

crackdown since his removal, a charge the army denies.

"In this day and age you can't suppress digital media," said

Bukhari.

The order is the latest in a series of laws and regulations

from Islamabad that have enabled the authorities to crack down

on critics and dissidents. It has blocked social media platforms

like X, Facebook and TikTok on several occasions.

In January, Pakistan's parliament introduced a new amendment

in the Electronic Crimes Act to further regulate cyber content,

which included a new social media regulatory authority with its

own investigation agency and tribunals.

Such tribunals will be able to try and punish alleged

offenders with prison sentences of as long as three years and

fines of two million rupees ($7,200) for dissemination of

information deemed "false or fake".

Similar laws to order the removal of disputed content have

also been introduced in neighbouring India, which has had

disagreements with X and Google over such directives.

In recent years, India has banned dozens of YouTube channels

citing national security.

Digital rights activist Usama Khilji said the Pakistani

court did not fulfil due process.

"What is jarring is the complete lack of legal process," he

said.

Toor said neither the court nor the cyber crime agency gave

him a chance to respond to the allegations, and that he would be

taking legal action against the court order.

"It is a dictatorial move. It can't silence me," he said.