Battle for a Free Cyber Pakistan

27th June 2008

Blogspot BanYoutube FiascoMartial Law

One specific website

DrawMuhammadWeek.blogspot.com DrawMuhammadWeek.blogspot.com

PKBlogs.com

• Mostly used by – China– Iran– India– Pakistan

• Problems of affecting Search Engine ranking

Bloggers.pk

Aggregator grew from a need

Credit – Yasir and Naveed Memon

Youtube Blocked

“for containing blasphemous web content/movies”

Election Rigging Video

• Reason to suspect that it might have been due to rigging videos in the elections – which were hosted on youtube

Youtube Fiasco

Vid.pk

Local Youtube alternative

November 3rd 2007

When Musharraf Attacked

• Judicial System – overthrowing 60 judges

• Blocked all TV channels• Pressured and arrested Print

Journalists• Online arena untouched ?

What was the problem

• Electronic Media Censored• Online Media unharmed• No credible Judiciary to appeal to• Constitution extensively amended• Cyber Crime Ordinance

promulgated

Online Activism against Martial Law

Blogs • emergencyinpakistan.blogspot.com• teeth.com.pk/blog• pkpolitics.com

Electronic Media Mobilization (local & International)

Grass root ‘People Mobilization’• Word of mouth• Overcoming the Digital Divide

SMS Activism

• Initially personal SMS networks• SMS Blog via FrontLine SMS

– Unable to kick off SMS SMS – Needs regular upkeep

• Absence !!!!!– 27th Dec Post Benazir Bhutto

Assassination riots– 18th Feb elections– 9th April court burnings

pkLongMarch.blogspot.com

Event based live SMS / Email bogging site

SMS Activism

• BLAAGGING Effect• 76.6 millions mobile users• Live Reporting from the ground• 160 characters ease of concept

Twitter Defect

• Pakistan mobile users NOT getting twitter updates

• Twitter Numbers known• Twitter downtime !!!• Need for an country specific

independent network for– SMS Web/Blog– Web/Blog SMS– SMS SMS

• Requires the setup of Hubs• Complex & Elaborate Setup• Local and International numbers• Reduce cost of SMS• Need for Redundancy• Risks

– Potential to being blocked by govt– Monitoring