[DailyTimes] Wanted: Censor for Pakistan’s Internet

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Pakistan is advertising for companies to install an Internet filtering system that could block up to 50 million web addresses, alarming free speech activists who fear current censorship could become much more widespread.

Internet access for Pakistan’s some 20 million web users is less restricted than in many countries in Asia and the Arab world, though some pornographic sites and those seen as insulting to Islam are blocked. […]

The plan to censor the Internet comes amid unease over a set of proposals by a media regulatory body aimed at bringing the country’s freewheeling television media under closer government control. With general elections later this year or earlier next, some critics have speculated the government might be trying to cut down on criticism. […]


http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2012\03\09\story_9-3-2012_pg7_6