John R. Houk
© April 20, 2019
WordPress.com owners “Automattic”
sent an email alert that a photo of Muhammad and Aisha portrayed in a
pedophiliac relationship with Quranic surahs side-by-side has been restricted
in Pakistan in compliance to a Pakistani censorship demand.
Here is the email notification of Automattic compliance:
Clark S. (Automattic)
Apr 20, 01:07 UTC
[Actual Email Received 4/19/2019 8:07 PM CT]
Hello,
A Pakistan authority has demanded
that we disable the following content on your WordPress.com site:
Unfortunately, we must comply to
keep WordPress.com accessible for everyone in the region. As a result, we have
disabled this content only for Internet visitors originating from Pakistan.
They will instead see a message explaining why the content was blocked.
Visitors from outside of Pakistan
are not affected.
You and your readers may be
interested in these suggestions for bypassing Internet
restrictions.
For your reference, we have
included a copy of the complaint. No reply is necessary, but please let us know
if you have any questions.
— Begin complaint —
Dear WordPress Team,
I am writing on behalf of Web Analysis Team of Pakistan
Telecommunication Authority (PTA) which has been designated for taking
appropriate measures for regulating Internet Content in line with the
prevailing laws of Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
In lieu of above it is highlighted that few of the web pages hosted on
your platform are extremely Blasphemous and are hurting the sentiments of many
Muslims around Pakistan. The same has also been declared blasphemous under
Pakistan Penal Code section 295, 295A, 295B, 295C and is in clear violation of
Section 37 of Prevention of Electronic Crime Act (PECA) 2016 and Section 19 of
Constitution of Pakistan.
Keeping above in view, It is requested to please support in removing
following URL's from your platform at earliest please.
The below mentioned websites can be found on following URL's:-
[…]
[…]
You are requested to contribute towards maintaining peace and harmony
in the world by discontinuation of hosting of these websites for viewership in
Pakistan with immediate effect. We will be happy to entertain any query if
deemed necessary and looking forward for your favorable response at your
earliest.
Regards
Web Analysis Team
+92 51 9214396
— End complaint —
Clark
Community Guardian
WordPress.com | Automattic
Community Guardian
WordPress.com | Automattic
To “Clark” (whoever that individual is) and Automattic’s
credit, a link is provided that shows Pakistani residence how to work around
Pakistani government censorship. Here is the content of that link:
Beat Censorship
Bypassing Internet Restrictions
Access to the Internet is subject
to restrictions in many countries. These range from the ‘Great Firewall of China’, to default content filtering
systems in place in the UK. As a result, WordPress.com blogs can sometimes
be inaccessible in these places. As far as we are concerned, that’s BS.
There are a number of ways
available to bypass these restrictions. As part of our commitment to freedom of
speech, we have listed some of the possibilities below. Bear in mind that the
most effective route will depend on where you are connecting from.
While these methods are generally
legal, you should always exercise caution when deciding to make use of them,
and research the situation in the country you are connecting from first.
VPNs (Virtual Private Network)
VPN services allow you to connect
to the Internet through their networks, rather than accessing websites
directly. These connections are often encrypted, bypass restrictions that may
be in place, and are often used for secure browsing.
Advantages
·
Depending on the VPN, users can enjoy anonymity
in their web browsing.
·
Users from countries that routinely block
traffic to and from certain sites within their borders (e.g., China, Russia,
Iran) can bypass those restrictions by using a VPN.
·
Users concerned about government surveillance
and third-party data capture and retention can use a VPN to mask their web
activity. The most privacy-conscious VPNs don’t even keep data logs and thus
have no user information or traffic to surrender to third-parties.
Disadvantages
·
VPNs add another layer of complexity to Internet
access. Users will need to select from a number of different providers to find
the right VPN that meets their needs; download additional software to their
computers or mobile devices; and configure the software.
·
Not all VPNs provide complete anonymity. Some
may log traffic or user data. If it’s a paid VPN service, credit card and other
payment information may be linked to individual user accounts, compromising
user security and privacy.
·
Performance and connectivity can be much slower
than standard network connections. In some cases, users may find themselves
having to log in multiple times during a session.
VPN Examples
Some examples of popular VPN
services are below. You should make sure to explore the best service for your
own situation before making any decisions on what to use.
Setting up VPNs
Each VPN provider will have
different ways to connect to their service. Some example instructions of how to
set up VPN connections are below.
VPN services typically also include
downloadable apps for your mobile devices such as these:
Tor
Tor is free software that routes an
Internet connection through different locations around the web. This masks
where you are connecting from, and bypasses the restrictions put in place by
governments and Internet Service Providers. There are versions available for
many different platforms, including Windows, Mac, iPhone, and Android.
While similar to VPN software in
many ways, Tor is distinct in that it relies on individual computers acting as
nodes to route the connection through – rather than solely large commercial
servers. As a result, connecting through Tor can be significantly slower than
the speeds you may be used to.
More information can be found on
the Tor website.
Your generosity is always appreciated:
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