Of all the widely used social media platforms, Facebook not only remains the most populated, but also the most controversial. When it comes to Pakistan , a particularly warped environment is developing.

It is a well-known fact that accusations of blasphemy in a country like Pakistan are tantamount to incitement of violence. Also well-known is the fact that Pakistan’s blasphemy laws prescribe a death penalty for blasphemy.

Yet in one recent instance, a Facebook page making a case (in Urdu) for the punishment of a Pakistani woman for blasphemy was reported by a large number of users, but Facebook refused to take action against the offending page with a standard response that the page had not violated the platform’s community standards.

Consequently, the page and its vile messages remained accessible for days.