In Pakistan, President Musharraf’s crackdown on the broadcast media after declaring
a state of emergency in November 2007 resulted in an actual increase in online dissemination of news and synchronicity between online and off-line citizen activism.
The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) was established when
Musharraf allowed for the creation of privately owned, independent broadcast media
in 2002. As conditions for obtaining a broadcast license, media outlets were required
to prevent content containing violence, terrorism, discrimination, extremism, sectarianism, pornography, and obscenity from receiving coverage in programming and advertising. 78 Media were also directly prohibited from broadcasting any content that is
obscene, disturbs public order, endangers national security, or is ‘‘against the ideology
of Pakistan.’’ 79
Upon declaring the state of emergency in 2007, Musharraf further amended PEMRA’s
charter to prohibit programming that ‘‘defames or brings into ridicule the head of
state, or members of the armed forces, or executive, legislative or judicial organ of the
state.’’ 80 Video footage of suicide bombers, other terrorists, and their victims was
banned, 81 and PEMRA was empowered to close any broadcast service in a ‘‘situation
of emergency’’ and seize equipment or seal the premises of licensees ‘‘in the public
interest.’’ 82 All privately owned radio and television stations were shut down, some by
force, 83 and cable operators were banned from broadcasting any national or international news channels. 84 Because Musharraf did not take such an assiduous approach
toward restricting online content during the emergency, privately owned television
stations taken off the air took advantage of the relative openness of the Internet and
sent text messages announcing the live streaming of their programming online. 85
Since 2007, offended citizens and groups in India have demanded that social networking Web sites be scrubbed of what they believe to be defamatory or obscene content online. Google’s Orkut is the most popular social networking Web site in India
and the second-most-visited portal nationally. As a result of citizens filing complaints
with the police, several individuals have been arrested for violating Article 67 of the
IT Act, which punishes the online publication or transmission of obscene content. 86
In February, Chandigarh IT professional Jatinder Singh Marok was alleged to have created an obscene profile on Orkut of a girl, including her personal identification and
photos. 87 In another high-profile case, Rahul Krishnakumar Vaid, a 22-year-old IT consultant, was accused of posting obscene and derogatory comments about Sonia Gandhi
on an Orkut forum. According to an official account, police obtained Vaid’s identity by
asking Google to disclose his IP address, as well as the identification information in his
Gmail account. 88
With the enactment of its cyber crimes law in June 2007, Thailand became one of
the few countries in Asia to require its government to obtain court authorization to
block Internet content. 89 Vietnam and South Korea are also notable in Asia for
expressly mandating filtering as a preventive mechanism against ‘‘harmful’’ content.
Asia Overview
417
a state of emergency in November 2007 resulted in an actual increase in online dissemination of news and synchronicity between online and off-line citizen activism.
The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) was established when
Musharraf allowed for the creation of privately owned, independent broadcast media
in 2002. As conditions for obtaining a broadcast license, media outlets were required
to prevent content containing violence, terrorism, discrimination, extremism, sectarianism, pornography, and obscenity from receiving coverage in programming and advertising. 78 Media were also directly prohibited from broadcasting any content that is
obscene, disturbs public order, endangers national security, or is ‘‘against the ideology
of Pakistan.’’ 79
Upon declaring the state of emergency in 2007, Musharraf further amended PEMRA’s
charter to prohibit programming that ‘‘defames or brings into ridicule the head of
state, or members of the armed forces, or executive, legislative or judicial organ of the
state.’’ 80 Video footage of suicide bombers, other terrorists, and their victims was
banned, 81 and PEMRA was empowered to close any broadcast service in a ‘‘situation
of emergency’’ and seize equipment or seal the premises of licensees ‘‘in the public
interest.’’ 82 All privately owned radio and television stations were shut down, some by
force, 83 and cable operators were banned from broadcasting any national or international news channels. 84 Because Musharraf did not take such an assiduous approach
toward restricting online content during the emergency, privately owned television
stations taken off the air took advantage of the relative openness of the Internet and
sent text messages announcing the live streaming of their programming online. 85
Since 2007, offended citizens and groups in India have demanded that social networking Web sites be scrubbed of what they believe to be defamatory or obscene content online. Google’s Orkut is the most popular social networking Web site in India
and the second-most-visited portal nationally. As a result of citizens filing complaints
with the police, several individuals have been arrested for violating Article 67 of the
IT Act, which punishes the online publication or transmission of obscene content. 86
In February, Chandigarh IT professional Jatinder Singh Marok was alleged to have created an obscene profile on Orkut of a girl, including her personal identification and
photos. 87 In another high-profile case, Rahul Krishnakumar Vaid, a 22-year-old IT consultant, was accused of posting obscene and derogatory comments about Sonia Gandhi
on an Orkut forum. According to an official account, police obtained Vaid’s identity by
asking Google to disclose his IP address, as well as the identification information in his
Gmail account. 88
With the enactment of its cyber crimes law in June 2007, Thailand became one of
the few countries in Asia to require its government to obtain court authorization to
block Internet content. 89 Vietnam and South Korea are also notable in Asia for
expressly mandating filtering as a preventive mechanism against ‘‘harmful’’ content.
Asia Overview
417