court directive seeking to block their channels for allegedly being “anti-state”. The channels at risk of being blocked in Pakistan include those belonging to the main opposition party, its leader and jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan, as well as several journalists critical of the government, according to a court order dated June 24 and circulated this week.

The judicial magistrate court in Islamabad said it was seeking the ban after the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency criticised the channels in a June 2 report for “sharing highly intimidating, provocative and derogatory contents against state institutions and officials of the state of Pakistan”. Digital rights campaigners say that any ban would further undermine free speech in Pakistan, where the authorities are accused of stifling newspapers and television, and social media is seen as one of the few outlets for dissent.

YouTube told 27 content creators that their channels could be taken down if they did not comply with the court orders. “If you fail to do so, as per our local law obligations, we may comply with the request without further notice,” the popular video-sharing platform said in emails this week to the channel owners. YouTube’s regional communications manager did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for a comment. (Aljazeera)