Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah of the Lahore High Court noticed with regret that ‘Google’ had not made any effort to inform the court about its inability to join the proceedings which was not expected from such a reputable company.
Justice Shah was hearing a writ petition for restoration of YouTube filed by Bytes for All, an NGO.
On the last date of hearing on April 26, notices were issued to Google Asia Pacific Pvt Ltd to solicit Google’s position whether it wished to localise its services in Pakistan but it failed to respond to court notices. The ministry of information and technology (MOIT) had submitted that Google was not interested in joining the court proceedings.
Petitioner’s counsel submitted that there were several technologies available which could help block controversial contents/sites on YouTube and, therefore, MOIT and Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) be directed to reopen YouTube and only block controversial sites.
On the other hand, the representative of MOIT/PTA submitted there was no technology available so far which could absolutely block all controversial sites and, therefore, there was no guarantee if any controversial film or material was posted on YouTube.
The court remarked that the answer to the reopening of Youtube lies in the technological ability of MOIT/PTA to block controversial contents as and when it appeared on YouTube. The court directed Waseem Tauqeer, (S&D) PTA Director General, to hold a meeting with the petitioner as well as the representative of MOIT and IT experts to assess and explore the state of technological ability available in the country. Departmental representatives will organise a meeting before the next date of hearing and explore various technologies that could enable MOIT/PTA to block controversial sites and yet make available the educational and informational contents on YouTube to the general public.
The court further directed that Waseem Tauqeer would place the minutes of the meeting on record before the next date of hearing and shall also personally appear before the court for assistance.
In case MOIT/PTA failed to come up with a technological answer, the court would proceed to decide the matter on the constitutional touchstone of fundamental rights and public interest involved in the case, the court order concluded. Further proceedings were adjourned till July 27.
