ICC Note:

As Pakistan seeks to remove what it considers ‘blasphemous’ posts from social media, government officials are asking Facebook for help. Facebook is ‘carefully considering’ the request as such a demand could force Facebook to invade the privacy and rights of Facebook users while also contributing to censorship. Pakistan’s prime minister considers blasphemy to be ‘unpardonable.’ Blasphemy is punishable by life imprisonment in Pakistan but more rural areas often punish blasphemy victims via stoning. Christians must be careful about their social media usage, but this new declaration makes them more vulnerable.

3/17/2017 Pakistan (Newsweek) –– Pakistan has asked Facebook for help with managing blasphemous content on the social networking site. The country’s interior ministry has announced that, in response, Facebook will send a team to Pakistan to discuss the situation.

Earlier in the week Pakistan’s prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, said he supported a crackdown on social media to reduce the amount of blasphemous content.

His party’s Twitter account describes blasphemy as “unpardonable.”

Facebook said it “viewed government requests with care, keeping in mind the goal of protecting the privacy and rights of our users,” according a statement by AP. Pakistan authorities will also seek measures to extradite any Pakistanis who make blasphemous comments abroad.

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