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Reuters
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Pakistan seeks YouTube ban on more than two dozen critics, including journalists
ISLAMABAD, July 9 (Reuters) - Alphabet-owned (GOOGL.O), opens new tab YouTube has told more than two dozen critics of the Pakistani government that it is considering blocking their channels after a local court sought to ban them for being "anti-state." The channels that could be blocked in Pakistan include that of the main opposition party, of its leader, jailed former prime minister Imran Khan, and journalists critical of the government, according to the June 24 court order seen by Reuters. The judicial magistrate court in Islamabad said it was seeking the ban after the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) criticised the channels in a June 2 report for "sharing highly intimidating, provocative and derogatory contents against state institutions and officials of the state of Pakistan." Digital rights campaigners say that any ban would further undermine free speech in Pakistan, where the authorities are accused of stifling newspapers and television, and social media is seen as one of the few outlets for dissent. YouTube told 27 content creators that their channels could be taken down if they did not comply with the court orders. "If you fail to do so, as per our local law obligations, we may comply with the request without further notice," the popular video sharing platform said in emails this week to the channel owners, according to a notice seen by Reuters. YouTube's regional communications manager did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for a comment. Pakistan's state minister for interior Talal Chaudhry said the content creators would also face criminal charges. "You cannot use these cell phones and the social media to create chaos," he told local Geo News TV. "There are laws to regulate and they will have to work under these laws," he said. One of the creators, Asad Toor, who has more than 333,000 YouTube subscribers, said the move was aimed at undermining fundamental and constitutional rights of the people, political parties and other dissident groups. "It is not about me. It is about these people who are on the left side of the state," he told Reuters. "I have dedicated my platform for these underdogs who have no place to go to and raise their voices against the state oppression." After the government clamped down on traditional media, many reporters migrated to YouTube, as did journalists and commentators sympathetic to Khan, who was removed from office in 2022. "It's not only about anchors getting fired or YouTube channels getting banned. It's what they are not allowing to be told and the human rights abuse they are trying to hide from the world," said Zulfikar Bukhari, a spokesman for Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party. Khan has said his party has faced a military-backed crackdown since his removal, a charge the army denies. "In this day and age you can't suppress digital media," said Bukhari. The order is the latest in a series of laws and regulations from Islamabad that have enabled the authorities to crack down on critics and dissidents. It has blocked social media platforms like X, Facebook and TikTok on several occasions. In January, Pakistan's parliament introduced a new amendment in the Electronic Crimes Act to further regulate cyber content, which included a new social media regulatory authority with its own investigation agency and tribunals. Such tribunals will be able to try and punish alleged offenders with prison sentences of as long as three years and fines of two million rupees ($7,200) for dissemination of information deemed "false or fake". Similar laws to order the removal of disputed content have also been introduced in neighbouring India, which has had disagreements with X and Google over such directives. In recent years, India has banned dozens of YouTube channels citing national security. Digital rights activist Usama Khilji said the Pakistani court did not fulfil due process. "What is jarring is the complete lack of legal process," he said. Toor said neither the court nor the cyber crime agency gave him a chance to respond to the allegations, and that he would be taking legal action against the court order. "It is a dictatorial move. It can't silence me," he said.
Fox News
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
JASON CHAFFETZ: Ten sneaky ways the deep state steals your data and how Trump can help you stop it
PROGRAMMING ALERT: Watch author Jason Chaffetz discuss this topic and more on Fox News Channel's "Hannity" at 9 pm ET. Imagine a world where every text you send, every purchase you make, and every mile you drive is quietly logged and analyzed by a government that never asked for permission. That world isn't hypothetical; it's here. In fact, it's the Obama-Biden legacy. Their administrations allowed executive branch agencies to use our data to manipulate elections and silence opposing voices. This shadow threat remains, ready for any partisan hand to seize. President Donald Trump's push to streamline agency data for efficiency offers hope but will need transparency and oversight. This blueprint for tyranny didn't end with President Joe Biden. Below are ten chilling ways they're harvesting your data, exposed in my new book, "They're Coming for You," (Broadside Books, July 1) with steps to fight back. 1. Buying Your Data from Brokers. What the government can't legally collect, it often buys. The feds skirt laws by purchasing your location history and shopping habits from data brokers. Apps you trust sell your every move, turning your life into a deep state cash cow. We can stop it by requiring agencies to obtain a warrant to access this data. Legislation like the Fourth Amendment is Not for Sale Act can close this data broker loophole. 2. Social Media Surveillance. Barack Obama and Joe Biden's allies coerced Facebook and Twitter to bury patriots' posts, flagging 'wrongthink' to silence dissent. "They're Coming for You" demands transparency, oversight, and whistleblower/FOIA reforms to expose this deep state grip. If we enforce these fixes, you can reclaim your free speech. 3. Cell-Site Simulators. While serving in Congress, I saw Stingrays—federal tools mimicking cell towers—suck up innocent phone data without warrants from agencies such as the IRS. I pushed a 2017 bill to stop this. A 2023 Cell-Site Simulator Warrant Act also stalled. We need to revive federal legislation to crush this deep state overreach. 4. Facial Recognition Databases. Agencies raid DMV and social media photos to spy on you, targeting protesters with impunity. Demand Congress ban this un-American snooping. 5. Financial Transactions. With Obama and Biden, the IRS and DOJ could rifle through your bank records, while the CDC bought phone data to enforce lockdowns. Insist on warrant requirements and strict oversight to expose this deep state plunder. 6. Health Records. Your vaccine status and medical history are fair game for bureaucrats to punish non-compliance. Back federal privacy laws and sweeping reforms to shield health data. Urge Congress to pass legislation and stop this deep state intrusion. 7. Internet Metadata. The NSA can track your emails and searches without cause, mapping your life. Support legislation like the Fourth Amendment is Not for Sale Act to end this intrusion. 8. AI and Machine Learning. Biden's AI tools flagged conservatives for suppression, predicting dissent. We should seek to dismantle these partisan algorithms. We need greatear transparency and oversight to curb this deep state bias. We need to push systemic reforms, ensuring accountability and stopping partisan algorithms from silencing patriots. 9. Mail Surveillance. Law enforcement has far too often peeked at your mail with no vetting—pure overreach. Call for public audits to expose this hidden violation. 10. Partnerships with NGOs and Corporations. NGOs and woke corporations launder data for the deep state, blacklisting patriots. Rally behind Trump to sever these unholy alliances. The Obama - Biden data tyranny—manipulating elections, debanking opposition voices, and muzzling speech—casts a deep state shadow. Trump's executive order to eradicate information silos and enhance data collection across agencies seeks efficiency and taxpayer savings, is a noble aim I support. Yet, the administration's lack of transparency fuels distrust, risking a tool for partisan bureaucrats or future leaders to exploit. Without full disclosure, robust safeguards, ironclad legal protections, and vigilant oversight, this system could revive Obama and Biden's abuses. We need to work to mandate transparency reports, enforce strict data limits, and champion the Fourth Amendment is Not for Sale Act. Trump has already begun to undo the Obama -Biden's legacy but only with these measures can we ensure data serves freedom, not tyranny.
Malay Mail
25-05-2025
- Business
- Malay Mail
France bars Telegram founder Durov from Norway trip amid probe over illegal content on platform
PARIS, May 25 — Telegram founder Pavel Durov has been denied a request to travel from France to Norway for a rights conference, the organisers said yesterday. Durov, 40, was detained in Paris in 2024 and is under formal investigation over illegal content on his popular messaging service. He had been due to speak at the Oslo Freedom Forum on Tuesday, addressing the annual gathering on the subject of free speech, surveillance and digital rights. But organisers the Human Rights Foundation said he had been stopped from travelling in person by a French court. He will now address the event virtually, they added. 'It is unfortunate that French courts would block Mr Durov from participating in an event where his voice is so needed,' HRF founder and CEO Thor Halvorssen said. 'Technologies like Telegram are basic tools for those resisting tyranny. This is more than a disappointment for our community; it is a setback for freedom.' In March, Durov was allowed to leave France and travel to Dubai, where his company is based. Earlier this week however, he was stopped from going to the United States to talk with investment funds. Since his arrest, Durov had appeared to bow to Paris's demands for stronger efforts to ensure illegal content -- such as child abuse and drug trading -- was not on Telegram. But he has also alleged that the head of France's DGSE overseas intelligence service had asked him to ban pro-Russian accounts from the platform before recent presidential elections in Romania. The DGSE has rejected the claims. — AFP
The Independent
09-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
India cracks down on independent news websites and Twitter profiles amid ‘information war'
India reportedly blocked access to an independent news website and ordered the removal of Pakistan -linked content across digital platforms in a sweeping clampdown on online information amid growing cross-border tensions. The website of The Wire, a news organisation known for its investigative journalism and critical coverage of the government, became inaccessible across much of the country on Friday. While officials have not issued any public order or statement, internet service providers told The Wire that the site had been blocked following directions from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) under the Information Technology Act, 2000, it said in a statement. The publication said it would challenge the action in court and the move amounted to 'a clear violation of the constitutional guarantee of freedom of the press'. In another instance, the X handle of Maktoob Media, another Indian news website, was also withheld. In a statement, X (formerly Twitter) said it has received executive orders from the Indian government to block access to over 8,000 accounts within India. The company said the orders came with threats of 'significant fines and imprisonment of the company's local employees' for non-compliance. 'In most cases, the Indian government has not specified which posts from an account have violated India's local laws,' the company said. 'For a significant number of accounts, we did not receive any evidence or justification to block the accounts.' India's Ministry of Information and Broadcasting issued a separate advisory instructing online intermediaries, including social media platforms and streaming services, to take down all content 'having its origins in Pakistan'. 'In the interest of national security, all OTT platforms, media streaming platforms and intermediaries operating in India are advised to discontinue the web-series, films, songs, podcasts and other streaming media content, whether made available on a subscription based model or otherwise, having its origins in Pakistan with immediate effect,' read the advisory dated 8 May. The advisory did not define what qualified as such content or specify any legal framework under which it was issued. The Indian Ministry of Defence also on Friday asked 'all media channels, digital platforms and individuals' to refrain from 'live coverage or real-time reporting of defence operations and movement of security forces'. 'Disclosure of such sensitive or source-based information may jeopardise operational effectiveness and endanger lives. Past incidents like the Kargil War, 26/11 attacks, and the Kandahar hijacking underscore the risks of premature reporting. As per clause 6(1)(p) of the Cable Television Networks (Amendment) Rules, 2021, only periodic briefings by designated officials are permitted during anti-terror operations. In 1999, India and Pakistan fought a brief but intense conflict in the mountains above Kargil on the Line of Control, the cease-fire line dividing the former kingdom of Jammu and Kashmir. 'All stakeholders are urged to exercise vigilance, sensitivity, and responsibility in coverage, upholding the highest standards in the service of the nation,' the ministry said. The 26/11 attacks refer to the 2008 militant strikes in India's financial capital Mumbai in which over 160 people were killed. In the 1999 Kandahar hijacking of Indian Airlines flight 814 from Kathmandu, India blames Pakistan and Pakistan-based militant groups. The hijacking was resolved after New Delhi freed three Islamist militants, including Masood Azhar, the head of one such group. Lawyer and Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) director Apar Gupta said the government's move to block The Wire was not accompanied by a transparent legal order and appears consistent with a broader pattern of digital censorship. 'The restriction on access to The Wire's website does not emerge from any clear legal order, as it is not being disclosed and there is no public statement which exists on record,' Mr Gupta told The Independent. 'That matches a pattern of web censorship through the IT Rules 2021, where directions for blocking content are not transparently disclosed – either to the public or even to the impacted parties.' He added that a similar case involving the takedown of 4PM News's YouTube channel had reached the Delhi High Court, which has asked the government to respond. IFF also raised concerns about the 8 May advisory, which it said could lead to over-compliance by platforms and remove a wide range of material not connected to misinformation or threats to national security. 'The advisory rests on no clear statutory footing and imposes an indiscriminate, origin-based embargo,' the foundation said in a separate written statement. 'We urge the government to support Indian journalists and fact-checkers and issue content takedowns as a last resort.' The crackdown comes amid an information vacuum fuelled by rising military tensions between India and Pakistan. Television news channels have faced criticism for airing misleading or false footage, including a widely broadcast video claimed to be from India's recent missile strike across the border, which fact-checkers later identified as footage from Israeli airstrikes on Gaza in 2023. Social media platforms have seen a surge in unverified claims, including videos of old explosions, AI-generated imagery and repurposed gaming footage shared as evidence of Pakistani retaliation. The government has not made public which specific content prompted the 8 May advisory, or whether it is tied to any verified disinformation campaigns. With access to some news websites restricted, international platforms facing growing regulatory pressure, and misinformation circulating unchecked on mainstream television and encrypted apps, some observers have raised concerns about the shrinking availability of reliable information for Indian readers during a time of national crisis.
