Facebook Under Fire for Temporarily Blocking Pages in Pakistan

Facebook said that it had blocked users in Pakistan from access to the pages of a popular Pakistani rock band and several left-wing political pages, drawing sharp criticism from free-speech activists who accused the American company of caving in to government censors. Following an outcry on social media and inquiries by reporters to the Pakistani government and to Facebook, the government reversed itself and Facebook restored access to Laal’s page. But advocates said that at least six other Facebook pages that promoted progressive debate in Pakistan and that had been blocked during the week remained inaccessible.