NA Resolution for Opening YouTube is Nothing More than Aerial Firing

National Assembly yesterday passed a resolution for opening up the access of YouTube in Pakistan, however, this will not change any thing in the country except making to the headlines of the newspapers.

In reality, for all those readers who have asked us, National Assembly’s resolutions bear no legal standings or weightage. It is just the symbolic representation of thoughts of the elected leaders.

National Assembly’s resolutions stand without any constitutional value.

On other hands, the decision for banning or opening up of YouTube will never be relied on any such resolution that is passed by National Assembly.

Just in case if you don’t remember, our National Assembly had once passed a resolution that Drone attacks won’t be allowed on the soil of Pakistan. We are not going into political or foreign policy discussion of why drone attacks are still allowed but the mention was just to hint you that NA resolutions are nothing more than just aerial firing.

Just for the records, YouTube was banned in Pakistan on the orders of Supreme Court.

Supreme Court, in its order on September 17th, 2012, had directed Pakistan Telecommunication Authority to block the access of blasphemous content available on YouTube to the people in Pakistan. PTA, which hadn’t the capability of blocking selected videos/content, blocked the entire website instead.

Yes, Raja Parvez Ashraf, then Prime Minister of Pakistan, had ordered the blockade of website through a statement on TV, but again, Mr. Ashraf’s statement had no legal standing and PTA was not liable to obey PM’s orders.

It won’t be technically and legally incorrect If we say that PTA primarily obeyed Supreme Court’s orders for blocking the access of blasphemous material on YouTube.

For those who are wondering, only two things can open YouTube:

1. A supreme Court order to reverse its earlier order
2. A way (software/procedure) to block selected videos/content from YouTube

Option number 1 is just not possible.

If you are curious, option number 2 isn’t possible either without Google’s role. Because Google has this technology that can detect the content of the video and is capable of blocking one video and all of its copies with-in a geographical location.

PTA or any third-party solution just can’t do that. Just because there are thousands of copies available of this one blasphemous video and many more can be added each passing minute. Blocking them all is simply impossible.

Since Google has denied to help Pakistani government in blocking the video with-in Pakistani territory, hence option number 2 is impossible as well.

While on other hands, just to mention, Google had conveniently blocked the blasphemous video in various countries, including India, Syria, Malaysia, Egypt, Singapore and others.

But Google won’t block the video in Pakistan, just because of incompetent government that couldn’t convince Google or maybe because government didn’t ask Google properly because No YouTube is a lot better, politically.

Also the Internet Activists are somewhat involved in keeping YouTube still banned in Pakistan, just because their efforts are misdirected.

Instead of putting pressure on Google for getting the Video blocked in a country where display of blasphemous content is illegal, these so called activists are always busy in cursing the Government that did nothing but reaped the pat for someone else’s doings.

I hope it is now easy for you to understand that who is culprit behind the YouTube ban and also that how YouTube can be unbanned in Pakistan.

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