Yesterday in Pakistan, wireless providers were given a week to comply with a list of over 1000 banned words deemed rude by the country’s telecom regulator. Carlin’s seven dirty words made the cut for sure, but there were some other oddities as the Guardian reports like, “eight obscenities involving the word ‘foot’.” The article goes on to say: “While admitting that Pakistan’s constitution guaranteed free speech, the regulator told mobile phone companies that such freedom was ‘not unrestricted’ under court rulings. Furthermore, said the telecom watchdog, they had obligations under their licenses to prevent ‘obnoxious communication’.” Ahhhh, freedom.
Officials also said that the list isn’t finished, which means even more banned body parts. Example of a future text message in Pakistan: “Want to go see Daniel XXX Lewis in My Left XXXX? Should be XXXXXXX XXXX! Pick you up @ XXX.”
There’s a lot happening in the world. Through it all, Marketplace is here for you.
You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible.
Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.