PTA asks social media platforms to block content for 'sacrilegious film Lady of Heaven'

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority on Sunday asked social media platforms to immediately block all content related to what it termed the "sacrilegious" film titled "Lady in Heaven".

The authority, in a statement, said that keeping in view "different reports" regarding the movie and its "sacrilegious content", social media platforms including YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, have been directed "for immediate blocking of all content related to the said movie from their platforms".

It said that so far, 336 links containing promotional material of the movie have been reported to the different social media platforms.

PTA sends notices to Google, Wikipedia

On December 25, PTA said it has sent notices to tech giant Google and online encyclopedia Wikipedia for disseminating "sacrilegious content" through the platforms.

In a press release, the regulator said that it was acting against Google after receiving “complaints regarding misleading search results associated with ‘Present Khalifa of Islam’ and unauthentic version of Holy Quran uploaded on Google Play Store”.

PTA said that it has approached Google with the directives "to immediately remove the unlawful content" as it was a matter of a "very serious nature".

It also said that it had received complaints against Wikipedia for "hosting of caricatures of Holy Prophet (PBUH) and dissemination of misleading, wrong, deceptive and deceitful information through articles portraying Mirza Masroor Ahmad as a Muslim".

The authority said that it has served Wikipedia a notice after "extensive communication" to remove the "sacrilegious content to avoid any legal action".