Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has issued a notice to internet giants Google and Wikipedia under Removal and Blocking of Unlawful Online Content (Procedure, Oversight, and Safeguard) Rules 2020 (“Rules”) over 'dissemination of sacrilegious content.' In an official statement, PTA said, "PTA has been receiving complaints about misleading search results associated with Present Khalifa of Islam and unauthentic version of the Holy Quran uploaded by the Ahmadiyya Community on Google Play Store. Being a matter of very serious nature, PTA has approached Google Inc. with the directions to immediately remove the unlawful content."
The statement further read, "Complaints were also received regarding hosting of caricatures of Holy Prophet (PBUH) and dissemination of misleading, wrong, deceptive and deceitful information through articles published on Wikipedia portraying Mirza Masroor Ahmad as a Muslim. After extensive communication on the matter, Wikipedia has been finally served with the notice to remove the sacrilegious content to avoid any legal action."
The regulatory body says that if the platforms won't adhere to the complaint and the notice, PTA will further initiate action under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016 (PECA) and Rules 2020.
The statement further read, "Complaints were also received regarding hosting of caricatures of Holy Prophet (PBUH) and dissemination of misleading, wrong, deceptive and deceitful information through articles published on Wikipedia portraying Mirza Masroor Ahmad as a Muslim. After extensive communication on the matter, Wikipedia has been finally served with the notice to remove the sacrilegious content to avoid any legal action."
The regulatory body says that if the platforms won't adhere to the complaint and the notice, PTA will further initiate action under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016 (PECA) and Rules 2020.