Pakistan bans offensive words in texts
November 21st, 2011 - 10:06 pm ICT by Aishwarya BhattIslamabad, Nov 21 (THAINDIAN NEWS) The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority’s list of offensive words surprisingly includes “JESUS CHRIST.” The list will come into force on Monday (21st of November 2011) but ahead of the official release, the press have gotten access to the over 1,600 words banned from text messages in the country.
Most of the words – 1,109 of them - come from the English language with the remaining 586 words coming from the country’s Urdu languages. Many of the words are considered offensive but there are some surprises in the list as well.
The Pakistani authorities have reportedly ordered all the mobile companies in the country to implement censorship and screen out the affected words from all text messages.
Some of the words considered offensive under the list includes “intercourse,” “period,” “breast,” “hostage” and “condom.” Other words banned from text messages are gay, homo, lesbian, slime and damn.
BBC reports that two telecommunication companies in the country have confirmed receiving the list from the PTA.
The PTA says the new regulation became necessary after some residents complained about receiving abusive and offensive texts. It is not known how the name JESUS CHRIST became offensive.
Critics say the measure will only result in unnecessary restriction on mobile phone users.
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