The top court observes that it has not issue with freedom of speech as the public can speak about judges performance and their decisions but hinted that objectionable material is being uploaded on social media to provoke the public against army, judiciary and the government.
ISLAMABAD: (UrduPoint/Pakistan Point News-July 22nd, 2020) The Supreme Court took suo motu notice of objectionable content on YouTube, observing that anti-Pakistani content was uploaded on it here on Wednesday.
The top court took the notice while hearing a case against suspect Shaukat Ali about his alleged role in sectarian crime when the subject came under discussion.
“The public through YouTube videos is being provoked against the army, judiciary and other state institutions,” Justice Qazi Ameen observed.
“Has action been taken against those who committed this crime?,” the judge asked while addressing Federal Investigation Agency and Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) that whether they noticed the content that was being uploaded on YouTube.
“Even our families are not being spared [from criticism] on YouTube,” Justice Ameen further remarked.
Justice Qazi also observed: “We announced a verdict on yesterday and it was today on YouTube,”
The judge also pointed out that everyone was acting like an expert on social media, saying they had did not have any issue with freedom of speech as the public can speak about the judges’ performance and decisions.
On it, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) officials said that they could only report the content but could not remove it from the YouTube.
At this, Justice Alam remarked that YouTube was banned in several countries. He also observed that social media platforms were controlled by the local laws in many other countries.
The court issued a notice to the Foreign Ministry and the Attorney General for Pakistan and adjourned the case.
