The two biggest news landed this week for Pakistan content creators from tech giants Google and Meta. The American technology behemoth Google has registered as a company in Pakistan while Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also announced the “Stars Program” for monetization in Pakistan during his visit to Meta’s (Facebook) Asia Pacific headquarters in Singapore.
The tech giant Google has registered itself as a company with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) since social media companies were required to establish offices in the country under the “Removal and Blocking of Unlawful Online Content (Procedure, Oversight, and Safeguards) Rules, 2021.”
Following the registration of the American multinational technology corporation, other social media platforms would also open offices in Pakistan, according to Syed Aminul Haque, the minister of Information Technology and Telecommunications.
“TikTok will soon set up its office in Pakistan. Companies remain reluctant due to the lack of trust and inconsistent policies,” Haque said while stating that his government will provide full support to foreign companies.
The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication (MoITT) was in contact with foreign businesses and made a concerted effort to pull them to Pakistan, but the businesses balked because of the country’s political unrest. However, there has been a success in this respect, with both Google and then Tik Tok deciding to open offices in the country, while negotiations between the government and Facebook are underway.
Farhan Siddique Qureshi, Google Country Director for Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh has stated that Pakistan has shown to be a high-growth market. At a gathering where YouTube, an online video-sharing and social media platform, presented its inaugural “Brandcast” in Pakistan, Qureshi was speaking with reporters on the sidelines. Google owns the YouTube platform.
Data will be safe if Google’s server is built in Pakistan. Currently, all data from corporations, including social media, is stored outside of Pakistan.
“A Google delegation will visit Pakistan on December 11, 2022, to begin operations,” Afnan Ullah, a senator from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, stated, adding that the platform will grant 15,000 scholarships to Pakistani citizens once it begins operations in the nation.
Recently, Google has launched ‘Career Certificates’ for Pakistanis to learn in-demand technical skills in six areas: data analytics, IT support, IT automation, project management, UX Design, digital marketing, and e-commerce.
Both Google and Meta are entering into new era for Pakistan content creators.
FM Bilawal visits Meta office in Singapore
The parent company of Facebook, Meta, hosted Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari in its Asia-Pacific offices in Singapore on Saturday. He stated in a video message on the occasion that Pakistani creators may now earn money from their work thanks to the new Facebook stars feature. The Foreign Minister stated that over two billion people use the Meta platform every day, and we want the people of Pakistan to profit from it as well.
He said that the Meta is active in Pakistan, making investments, and giving our women and young people opportunities. He claimed that the star monetization function will contribute to improving the economic situation of our people.
According to a statement from the global tech giant, Facebook Stars will enable fans to purchase and send digital items to support creators, monitor the income by kind of content produced by Pakistani content creators, manage their objectives, and access additional Stars settings. The function is accessible on Facebook Reels, and Facebook Live, as well as on-demand videos, pictures, and text updates. All content creators with at least 1,000 followers online in the previous 60 days will be eligible for Facebook Stars.
Read More:
Car-free cities: Can this concept make its way to Pakistan?
Netherlands’ Utrecht library offer cyclists to recharge their e-devices by cycling
KSA unveils NEOM’s new luxury island Sindalah—set to open in 2024
