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Sarah Gooding

Pakistan is Blocking Sites Hosted on WordPress.com

photo credit: funnfun.in
photo credit: funnfun.in

Local Pakistani news sources are reporting that the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has demanded that local internet service providers block access to WordPress.com. Traffic originating from all major Pakistani ISPs will not be able to view sites hosted on WordPress.com. Self-hosted WordPress sites currently remain unaffected.

wordpressdotcom-blocked-pakistan

An anonymous source told ProPakistani.pk that the content causing the block is a matter of Pakistani national security but that WordPress.com should be unblocked within 48 hours:

A source at Pakistan Telecommunication Authority has confirmed ProPakistani that WordPress.com is temporarily blocked in Pakistan due to severe issues related to national security. It appears now that blocking decision is somewhat related to Pakistan Day.

Pakistan Day is a public holiday celebrated every year on March 23, marking the country’s independence from British India. Public businesses are generally closed. The holiday typically includes a parade, festivals, parties, and a national awards ceremony for military personnel and civilians.

At this time, the reason for the block has not been officially confirmed but ProPakistani.pk’s sources indicate that it is not due to outright censorship. However, Pakistan has a history of blocking sites, such as YouTube, Facebook, and Flickr, citing “blasphemous material” as the reason.

According to Reporters Without Borders, the PTA blocked 20,000 to 40,000 websites in 2014 for content that authorities deemed inappropriate. Since the PTA also issues licenses to ISPs, any company that fails to comply is at risk of losing its operating license.

As there is no official announcement from the PTA at this time, it is yet to be determined whether WordPress.com is under a temporary block or a permanent one.

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23 responses to “Pakistan is Blocking Sites Hosted on WordPress.com”

  2. Throughout Human History, the availability of education and public access to knowledge has ALWAYS been controlled by those with power. The global rise of the Internet has scared-the-living-bejesus out of those who want to maintain that control. Currently the Internet offers access to informational components of both “Heaven” & “Hell”, and in the process is helping the global facilitation of both “Good” and “Evil” deeds. The issue at hand, is the continued conflict and human interpretation of the difference between the defining characteristics of “Good” and “Evil”. Unfortunately, millions of humans still want to live by the belief systems of the 16th Century, and are having great difficulty dealing with the present one.

    The global free flow of information DEPENDS upon the human acceptance of the concept of Individual Freedom. It is my opinion, that the Human Species has NOT yet evolved to the point where the majority of its population accepts that premise. So, for the rest of the foreseeable future those in power will continue to control the free flow of information because of their fear of losing control.

    One of my biggest fears, is that the providers of globally accessible, open-source publishing software (such as WordPress) will voluntarily give in to the demands of Corporations, Governments, Religious Groups, and the whole concept of Political Correctness (the most dangerous control-mechanism on the planet) RESULTING in destroying the two decades old global expansion of Individual Freedom.

    I don’t think Individual Human Freedom will last, but I hope I’m wrong.

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  4. Pakistan seems to be temporary only, just cross the border with China to find out that wordpress.com is always blocked there.

    And I’m sorry, but a sentence like “Self-hosted WordPress sites currently remain unaffected.” of course is completely and utterly DOH.

    The fact that wordpress.com is blocked has nothing to do with WordPress (the CMS) and everything with the content (on wordpress.com)

    PUHLEASE

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  5. They said that the ban on YouTube would be temporary too but it has been blocked since years. Is there data somewhere that shows how many times countries have requested content removal from WordPress.com?

    So right now China, Turkey, and Pakistan have WordPress.com blocked. Are there any other countries where WordPress.com is blocked?

    How does it affect JetPack users?

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    • >>How does it affect JetPack users?
      Without a VPN you cannot connect to Jetpack. If you use the site stats module of Jetpack to track your site’s traffic, that will not be affected (unless all your site’s traffic originates from China, Turkey and Pakistan and those visitors are not on VPN).
      But you will only be able to see the stats of your site once you have turned on your VPN, without it, you will have to accept that you’re blocked from the “outside world”.

      As I am living in China, I have been dealing with these type of issues for a very long time already and you will find that although there almost always is a way around these blocks, you will have to ask yourself whether it really is worth it?

      I’m almost 24/7 on VPN, but the reason why I need/want that certainly is not because wordpress.com is blocked. That is a just a nuisance at best.

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