ON the issue of the blockade placed on access to YouTube, the poet’s words regarding “decisions and revisions that a minute will reverse” come to mind.

It has been three years since access to the site from within Pakistan was curtailed, following a furore in the Muslim world caused by a certain mischief-making film trailer.

Back then, it was promised that some way of filtering content, or getting YouTube’s parent company, Google, to do this, would be found.

Also read: Senate body seeks legislation to lift YouTube ban

Since then, though, the matter has been reduced to the level of farce. Various government functionaries have promised solutions, but nothing has happened. The superior courts have used their time to puzzle over the problem, all to naught.

On May 6 last year, the National Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution to lift the blockade; and on Tuesday, the Senate Standing Committee on Information Technology also directed that YouTube be unblocked.

Will this be enough to see the ban lifted? Citizens are justifiably wondering what it will take, or at what level a consensus could be reached, to reverse one of the most ridiculous bans slapped by the state?

It is an open secret that the blockade is pointless, given that there are several methods through which the ban can and is being bypassed.

Indeed, submitting the resolution last year to the National Assembly, MNA Shazia Marri noted that people were using proxy servers.

Are we to understand, then, that the ban remains because its lobby group has fallen silent?

The government needs to own up to the fact that open access to the internet, especially those sites that are used for research and educational purposes, is the citizenry’s right.

It will never be possible to entirely control the flow of online content, and the attempt to do so is futile. A much better route would be to educate the populace on surfing safely.

It is high time that the YouTube ban was lifted, as the Senate standing committee has directed.

Published in Dawn, September 17th, 2015

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