Now the government has asked for tenders from IT companies to construct a
website filtering system, which could prevent access to as many as 50m
sites, angering activists who fear the system will limit political debate.
Abdullah said his campaign was inspired by reports that Pakistanis search
online for terms related sex more than any other nation.
Google later refuted the headlines, saying the sample sizes were too small to
be statistically significant.
However last year Ghazi wrote to the PTA asking why he was still able to find
hundreds of pornographic sites online even after thousands had been blocked.
It replied by explaining it could ban sites only if it received a complaint
about individual URLs.
So Ghazi, who lives in Karachi and wants to set up a software house when he
finishes his studies, set about compiling a list. He started a campaign to
scour the darkest recesses of the internet, roping in an IT professional to
help with the software needed.
He is secretive about exactly how they did it, fearing it will help website
developers evade the ban.
Ghazi, now 16, said he would continue his quest to prevent Pakistanis
searching for porn.
“Its adverse effects are visible in several countries specially in the
west where the family system has just collapsed,” he added.
Previous attempts to censor everyday life have occasionally proved comical,
including efforts to clean up text messages.
Last year, regulators circulated a list of more than 1000 apparently obscene
words and phrases to be banned from SMS services.
However, the plan was ditched when it emerged that the list was based on words
banned from American football jerseys in the NFL, and included “tampon”,
“headlights” and even “Jesus Christ”.
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