New Delhi: Pakistan has a thing for internet freedom, and bans are its go-to solution for handling dissent. Social media platform Bluesky—an X alternative—is allegedly the latest to join the ‘forbidden’ list in Pakistan and people are calling this a crackdown on freedom of speech.
“Pakistani authorities appear to have banned Bluesky. Really have it in for microblogging websites (or perhaps the written word in general),” a Lahore-based assistant professor of sociology posted on X.
Pakistanis have been accessing X through Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) ever since the social media platform was banned in February 2024.
Since the X ban, former users quickly migrated to Bluesky, which could still be accessed without a VPN. Until yesterday.
“I couldn’t sign in to Bluesky since last night and I thought maybe they are overwhelmed with new users and servers are experiencing overload. But now that I tried with #VPN, it instantly worked and I am signed in. Did #Pakistan block #BlueSky already?” said a user on X.
An X account, NetBlocks, which tracks cybersecurity and digital governance, confirmed that Bluesky had been restricted in Pakistan.
Activist and writer Usama Khilji expressed his frustration on X.
“Pakistan is likely the first country to block access to @bluesky, continuing the trend of restrictions on the internet in Pakistan, violating the fundamental rights of speech & access to information.”
The curtailment of freedom of expression was the main complaint for a lot of Pakistanis.
“Why do we think our fascist govt won’t block Bluesky? Do we think they just hate Twitter? Noo, the issue is freedom of speech, and they don’t want us to have that. Wherever we can freely express ourselves, they’ll block that platform. #Bluesky #FreedomOfSpeech #Pakistan,” said a computer scientist from Peshawar.
From X to Bluesky
Bluesky is a decentralised platform, which means that rather than being controlled by a single company, it allows users to create their own servers that offer more control over a user’s data and privacy.
Moiz Mazhar, a Pakistani lawyer from Islamabad, blamed the military establishment in a post on X.
“Bluesky has also been banned in Pakistan. What a shit show Boots are doing by installing their generals in the PTA. They literally don’t care about anything right now, and freedom of speech is just a myth in this country.”
It was reported that the Pakistani government had initially banned X on the grounds of national security. The government has also been cracking down on VPNs, which Pakistanis are using to circumvent existing bans.
A Reddit user claimed that even with a VPN, the Bluesky app is unusable because images load slowly.
“Honestly, what was even the point? I didn’t see any activism on Bluesky, just people sharing their artwork, so why even block it?”