Minister of Interior Chaudhry Nisar earlier this year had hinted that the Vice President of Facebook will be visiting Pakistan to discuss the matter of blasphemous content on social media and other related issues with Pakistani government.
Joel Kaplan, VP Facebook met with the Minister of Interior last week in Islamabad who is known to take prompt action against blasphemous content. The Minister had also earlier this year threatened to shut down all social media websites that contained blasphemous content.
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The discussion between the two according to various news sites entailed on how Facebook is taking down blasphemous content that is considered illegal in Pakistan, where Chaudhry Nisar voiced his concerns regarding how Islam and the holy Prophet are very sacred to the people.
Kaplan reiterated that Facebook has policies that aim to remove fake profile and provocative material which entices hatred and violence in society. The Pakistani Government also asked Facebook to link all of its accounts with the user mobile numbers. The move is being recommended in order to spot and kill fake profiles.
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More on the matter was discussed at the National Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecommunication where its Chairperson, Captain (Retd) Muhammad Safdar was briefed.
VP Joel Kaplan also highlighted various initiatives of Facebook during the trip, he also informed the minister about its digital literacy campaign called iChamp. A campaign will educate youth on the benefits and safe use of internet. Other initiatives that Facebook has taken up in the Pakistani community were also discussed such as the Facebook Developers Circle that has hubs in Lahore and Karachi with one opening in Islamabad soon.
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Mr. Kaplan was urged by the Minister that Facebook should have an office in Pakistan as well so that local issues can be resolved with ease. It was the first time a top tier management from the social media giant visited Pakistan.
