Blog Crackdown

May 19th Facebook Ban: Damage Assessment

On May 19th the Lahore High Courst issued a notice to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority requesting a ban on the Social Networking site, Facebook ...Continued

With immediate effect Pakistan's blog-sphere and Twitter-sphere jumped into action to protest the ban. A Twiter hashtag, #FBbanPk was created where Freedom Advocates and activist from the Pakistani diaspora have been shown at outcry at the ban.

Presently leading the campaign are @DrAwab, @Ramlas, @hushamahmed,@arrafiq

A dedicated Wiki page has been setup. You are encouraged to share any information that you have regarding the recent incident here.

• Internet Censorship

Internet Filter Status

See Internet Filter Status

Technical Workaround Resources

• PKBlogs.com A free clone service for all Blogspot banned blogs. Modifies internal and external links to work perfectly in Pakistan.
• Firefox Extension by Ovais Khan

Press Releases, etc.

• Don't Block the Blog Campaign's release can be seen, amongst other places, on Zohare's blog at:
  http://zohare.blogspot.com/2006/03/public-press-release-please-distribute.html
• Reporters San Frontiers:
  http://web.archive.org/web/20060513111807/http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=16678
• International Freedom of Expresion eXchange:
  http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/72662/

Letters to the Editor

• Dawn:
  http://www.dawn.com/2006/03/07/letted.htm#7

Blog Entries

• Zack (pioneer of the Urdu Blogsophere and the Urdu Wiki):
  • Blogspot Blocked in Pakistan: http://www.zackvision.com/weblog/2006/03/blogspot-pakistan.html
• Danial:
  • BlogSpot Banned in Pakistan: http://danial.pixelsndots.com/archives/380
  • Pakistan Bans BlogSpot - Hysterical Censorship: http://danial.pixelsndots.com/archives/381
• Global Voices:
  • http://www.globalvoicesonline.org/2006/03/05/pakistan-blog-o-block/
  • http://www.globalvoicesonline.org/2006/03/02/pakistan-blogspot-blogs-blocked-in-pakistan/
  • Pakistan: Online freedom of speech as collateral damage?
• iFaqeer:
  • http://ifaqeer.blogspot.com/2006/03/pakistan-blocks-blogs.html
• FittaymooN:
  • http://mianwaheed.blogspot.com/2006/03/do-not-block-blogs-in-pakistan.html
• Yasir Memon's Blog: Pakistan's Blogspot Ban: a nifty and quick fix
  • http://blog.yasirmemon.com/wp2/nfblog/?p=25
• Stabani.com: Pakistan Bites Back
  • http://www.stabani.com/archives/2006/162

News

The Don't Block the Blog page is central site for tracking this. You can add material to this page yourself if you want.

• Chowk.com article by Kyla Pasha
• Washington Post (8th March 2006)
• BBC News: Pakistan blocks blogs on cartoons
• BBC Urdu Coverage (7th March 2006):
  • BBC Urdu: بلاگ سپاٹ:پابندی کے خلاف تحر
  • BBC Urdu: بلاگ سپاٹ تک رسائی بن (with Government memo in English listing banned sites)
  • BBC Urdu: بلاگ کیوں بلا
  • BBC Urdu: اپنا بلاگ کسی اور سروس پر لے جاؤں گا
• The News article by Ethan Casey
• AsiaMedia: Pakistan: Blasphemous Websites to be Blocked, Orders SC
• Adnkronos International: Cartoon Crisis: Pakistan Government Directed to Block Websites
• Daily Times: Government Directed to Block ‘Blasphemous’ Websites
• The Nation: SC Orders to Block Blasphemous Websites
• Khalid Omer's article: Internet Censorship, the Pakistani way
• Dawn, The Review: The bloggers’ block by Mamun Adil

Websites Reported as Blocked in Pakistan

The following websites are reportedly banned in Pakistan, the references are mentioned in brackets.

• http://www.ostomaan.org [Reporters Without Borders]
• http://www.bso_na.com [Reporters Without Borders]
• http://www.balochclub.com [Reporters Without Borders]
• http://balochestan.com [Reporters Without Borders]
• http://www.rahimjaandehvari.blogfa.com [Reporters Without Borders]
• http://balochwarna.org.modules/news/ [Reporters Without Borders]
• http://www.zrombesh.org [Reporters Without Borders]
• http://www.balochunitedfront.org [Reporters Without Borders]
• http://www.balochistaninfo.com [Reporters Without Borders]
• http://www.bso-na.org [Reporters Without Borders]
• http://www.balochtawar.net/brw/ [Reporters Without Borders]
• http://oldmanclub.persianblog.com/ [Reporters Without Borders]
• http://www.al-baloushi.com/ [Reporters Without Borders]
• http://www.balochistan.cjb.not/ [Reporters Without Borders]
• http://www.sarbaaz.com [Reporters Without Borders]
• http://www.sagaar.tk [Reporters Without Borders]
• http://ngaran.blogfa.com [Reporters Without Borders]
• http://www.hazzaam.com/hazzaam.com/ [Reporters Without Borders]
• http://www.balochmedia.net [Reporters Without Borders]
• http://www.radiobalochi.org.archives/meny_shajarehname_aks.htm [Reporters Without Borders]
• http://www.balushunion.com [Reporters Without Borders]
• http://www.payambaloch.persianblog.com [Reporters Without Borders]
• http://www.brohi.tk [Reporters Without Borders]
• http://www.balochistaninfo.com/balochanitawar/ [Reporters Without Borders]
• http://www.eurobaluchi.com [Reporters Without Borders]
• http://www.balochunity.org [Reporters Without Borders]
• http://www.balouch.blogspot.com [Reporters Without Borders]
• http://balouch.blogspot.com [Reporters Without Borders]
• http://dochebaloch.persianblog.com [Reporters Without Borders]
• http://www.asaappublicetions.com [Reporters Without Borders]
• http://www.sindhtoday.net [Reporters Without Borders]
• http://www.worldsindhi.org [Reporters Without Borders]
• http://www.live365.com [Reporters Without Borders]
• http://www.golbang.nu [Reporters Without Borders]
• http://www.plusultrablog.com/ [BBC Urdu, Plus Ultra Blog]
• http://www.zombietime.com/ [BBC Urdu, Plus Ultra Blog]
• http://www.drawmohammed.com/ [BBC Urdu, Plus Ultra Blog]
• http://www.nordish.net/ [BBC Urdu, Plus Ultra Blog]
• http://mohammeddrawings.com/ [BBC Urdu, Plus Ultra Blog]
• http://prophet.rydasrecords.com/ [BBC Urdu, Plus Ultra Blog]
• http://www.jesusandmo.com/ [BBC Urdu, Plus Ultra Blog]
• http://www.dumbreligion.com/ [BBC Urdu, Plus Ultra Blog]
• http://danishcartoons.ytmnd.com/ [BBC Urdu, Plus Ultra Blog]
• http://www.drawchrist.com/ [BBC Urdu, Plus Ultra Blog]
• http://codex.wordpress.org/ [As reported by Internet Users]
• http://www.thepresidentofpaksitan.org [As reported by Internet Users]
• http://www.SanaBaloch.com [As reported by Internet Users]
• http://www.Baloch2000.org [As reported by Internet Users]
• http://www.BalochFront.com [As reported by Internet Users]
• http://www.BalochVoice.com [As reported by Internet Users]
• http://www.hinduunity.com. [As reported by Internet Users]
• http://voiceofambition.com/ [As reported by Internet Users]
• http://michellemalkin.com [As reported by Internet Users]

Internet Freedom Resources

• http://www.opennetinitiative.net/
• Global Voices
• EFF:
  http://www.eff.org
• Reporters San Frontieres:
  http://www.internet.rsf.org
  They also have a "Handbook for bloggers and cyber-dissidents"at:
  http://web.archive.org/web/20051001152614/http://www.rsf.org/rubrique.php3?id_rubrique=542
• http://www.peacefire.org/circumventor/simple-circumventor-instructions.html describes how to get around it by setting up a program called the Circumventor.
• Censorship Wikia: http://censorship.wikia.com

dmeurope.com
Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)
content-wire.com [blogger newswire that appears in google news]
1world communication
GLIC (Global Internet Liberty Campaign) - gilc.org
Association for Progressive Communications (APC) -  Rapid Response
Network - apc.org
International Freedom of Expression eXchange (IFEX) - ifex.org
cyber-rights.org
human rights watch new york - hrw.org
peacefire.org
interaction.org
derechos.org

Internet Censorship Around The World

• Italy http://www.merit.edu/mail.archives/nanog/msg16369.html
• Singapore http://www.isoc.org/HMP/PAPER/132/
• China
• India: http://censorship.wikia.com/wiki/Bloggers_Against_Censorship