Google built a special version of YouTube for Pakistan so it could get 3-year ban lifted

Google has launched a special version of YouTube that gives more control over content to the government of Pakistan, in order to get a ban on the service lifted in the country.

The ban was put into place in September 2012 after an anti-Islam movie was uploaded to the site causing outrage. It had been expected to return far earlier, but negotiations fell apart.

Now, however, Reuters reports that the new Pakistani version of YouTube allows for the authorities to request that offending material is blocked from being accessed by users in the country, which has placated the government.

“Google has provided an online Web process through which requests for blocking access of the offending material can be made by PTA to Google directly and Google/YouTube will accordingly restrict access to the said offending material for users within Pakistan,” the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecom told Reuters.

Censorship of its services isn’t an altogether unfamiliar experience for Google (or its brands like YouTube). Turkey, for example, has repeatedly blocked access to YouTube and Twitter in an attempt to control the flow of information.

➤ Pakistan lifts ban on YouTube after launch of own version [Reuters]