iWorld
Ban on YouTube in Pakistan may be lifted in two months
NEW DELHI: The Pakistan National Assembly is expected to take a final decision on 8 April to ask the government to re-open YouTube in the country in matter of two months with necessary safeguards.
This follows a sizable number of members having moved resolutions for lifting the 18-month ban.
However, the matter has been put off to 8 April in view of the pending case on reopening of YouTube in Lahore High Court.
A resolution was moved by Pakistan People’s Party member Shazia Marri that asked the government for re-opening of YouTube immediately, particularly since the objectionable video ‘Innocence of Muslims’ had been removed.
Later Awab Alvi from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf also advocated the opening of YouTube, according to the Pakistani web portal MoreMagazine.
An amendment moved by Awais Leghari of the PML-N deleted the word “immediate” and gave the government up to two months to remove the ban “with adequate safeguards”.
With the ban on Youtube, famous singer Ali Gul Pir has released a song Kholo BC to mock government for its inability to lift the ban on such a useful online platform. With main focus on YouTube Ban, Ali and his fellow artiste Adil Omer has touched upon various issues related to Pakistani society, its Youth and the dichotomy present in the behavior of its ruling elite.
Interestingly, this resolution comes at a time when an international survey has revealed that just around 22 per cent of Pakistanis want a free internet.
iWorld
Telcos push for unified rules as spam shifts to OTT platforms
Over 80 per cent fraud moves online, operators seek common framework.
MUMBAI: The spam may have left your phone network but it hasn’t left you alone. India’s telecom operators are once again dialling up the pressure for a unified regulatory framework, warning that fraud is rapidly migrating to internet-based platforms where oversight remains far looser. According to industry communication, a leading operator has written to multiple arms of the government including the Department of Telecommunications, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and the Ministry of Finance arguing that tighter controls on traditional telecom networks are inadvertently pushing bad actors towards over-the-top (OTT) communication platforms.
The concern is not new, but the framing has sharpened. What was once an industry grievance is now being positioned as a consumer protection issue. Operators say that tackling spam in silos no longer works, as fraudsters seamlessly shift across platforms, exploiting regulatory gaps. The result: a moving target that traditional safeguards struggle to contain.
Executives point to a clear shift in fraud patterns. OTT platforms are increasingly being used for phishing links, impersonation scams and bulk unsolicited messaging, with industry estimates suggesting that over 80 per cent of spam activity has now migrated online. In this environment, the lines between telecom networks, messaging apps and financial fraud are blurring fast.
At the heart of the industry’s demand is a call for a technology-neutral regulatory framework, one that applies consistently across telecom and internet-based communication services. Operators argue that the absence of uniform safeguards, such as sender verification systems, robust spam filters and clearly defined accountability mechanisms, has created enforcement blind spots that fraudsters are quick to exploit.
The proposal is straightforward but far-reaching. Telcos are pushing for baseline anti-fraud measures across all communication platforms, alongside faster response systems and deeper coordination between ministries. Given the interconnected nature of telecom networks, digital platforms and financial systems, they argue that fragmented oversight only weakens the overall defence.
The broader issue is regulatory arbitrage, the ability of bad actors to hop between platforms based on which is least regulated at any given time. Without harmonised rules, operators say, efforts to curb fraud risk becoming a game of whack-a-mole.
As digital communication continues to expand, the debate is shifting from who regulates what to how consistently it is regulated. For now, telecom operators are making their case clear: in a world where spam travels freely, regulation cannot afford to stay fragmented.
