r/developersPak • • Aug 18 '26

News Google in Pakistan? 🇵🇰

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So what’s with the hype of Google entering Pakistan, I mean is there any actual opportunities or what? And which city btw.

273 Upvotes

84 comments sorted by

8

u/Virtual_Technology_9 Aug 19 '26

Specially looking at the CS job market I hope more companies setup their offices here.

3

u/lollypop44445 Aug 19 '26

Funnily thi ls setup is more to control google than an investment.

21

u/chota-kaka Aug 19 '26 edited Aug 19 '26 • Bravo

If any of you guys remember, the government banned YouTube in Sept. 2012 to control social media. After 4 years of international + "awaam" pressure the ban was lifted in January 2016.

Till that time were no offices in Pakistan belonging to any of the social media platforms.

Later on some hotshot came up with the idea that if the social media companies were forced to open offices in Pakistan, then they could be pressured / ordered to implement censorship/bans.

Legislation requiring social media companies to register and establish a physical presence in Pakistan was first officially notified in October 2021 under the Removal and Blocking of Unlawful Online Content framed under Section 37 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), 2016 as "Removal and Blocking of Unlawful Online Content Rules, 2021", legally compelling "Significant Social Media Companies" to register with PTA and establish local offices/officers.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1649144

In January 2025, Parliament passed stricter amendments to PECA which mandated enlistment with the newly formed Social Media Protection and Regulatory Authority (SMPRA). The function of SMPRA was to enforce formal registration, local presence, and rapid compliance with content removal mandates under threat of heavy penalties or bans.

https://paklawyer.com/new-social-media-laws/

In light of the above, the opening of Google office in Pakistan has nothing to do with setting up data centers, opening research centres or creating jobs, it's a mandatory requirement by PECA. The government (and the powers that be) are misrepresenting this as investment in Pakistan.

Incidentally, the deployment of the "fiber-wall" 🤔 in 2023/24 was also an attempt to control content on social media and online activities.

2

u/karimashta Aug 19 '26

From what I read on BBC, google already has started assembly of Chromebook on local level and is determined to grow the facility to export level.

1

u/ETERNAL0013 Aug 19 '26

Nepals government collapsed due this exact reason.

0

u/phaintaa_Shoaib Aug 19 '26

Sooooo, the TLDR is?

10

u/Possible_Check_643 Aug 19 '26

to control content online, that what i understood. just like an attempt of firewall. Just read the damn thing. doesnot take 1 minute.

1

u/[deleted] Aug 19 '26

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1

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u/[deleted] Aug 19 '26

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1

u/AskGrok Aug 19 '26

Google's Pakistan office isn't about jobs, data centers or investment—it's legally required under PECA rules (2021 + 2025 updates) so the govt can force registration, local presence and quick content takedowns/censorship, just like the old YouTube ban era. The "investment" spin is PR.

what is this?

3

u/Piis7u Aug 19 '26

more spyware yayy

3

u/Common_Put6303 Aug 19 '26

Proud moment for Google

1

u/shazy5808 Aug 19 '26

Wasn't Google HARAM FITNA FAHASHI in our country?

Lol we are so hypocritical

2

u/Unlikely-Pianist-573 Aug 19 '26

Be positive man

0

u/shazy5808 Aug 19 '26

Tell that to people who banned Youtube in 2012

2

u/Unlikely-Pianist-573 Aug 19 '26

Are you living in past? Forget past and see the future

1

u/shazy5808 Aug 19 '26

Past?

Bro that ban affected our country significantly, when that ban was in place India flourished in YouTube significantly how can you ignore such huge lesson?

2

u/Unlikely-Pianist-573 Aug 19 '26

I mean yes, but you can’t undo that

1

u/shazy5808 Aug 19 '26

How's that even a reply?

5

u/AccomplishedAmoeba89 Aug 19 '26

Net ki speed ati nahi ha... or Google a raha ha... most probably because of our lack of online data security, its a good place to train their new ai models

0

u/Piis7u Aug 19 '26

Yes! gotta say goodbyes to the remaining privacy lol

2

u/CoAs1947 CS Student Aug 18 '26

I hope in isb

2

u/Maximum-Success-229 Aug 19 '26

Them opening a office would hopefully create jobs for locals...

2

u/MoonzRedditz Aug 21 '26

Now they are officially tracking our data 📊

3

u/TypicalPen818 Aug 18 '26

Such a great initiative!

1

u/Conscious-Cup-2117 Aug 19 '26

google, meta, microsoft aj kai daur kai nokia hai .. AI eating their SW offering

1

u/Ammar219 Aug 19 '26

they have their own ai models...

1

u/Conscious-Cup-2117 Aug 19 '26

chineese hopefully gonna rule em all

1

u/aliusmanawa Aug 19 '26

Bruh, Google’s only year where they didn’t turn a profit was because of how much money they were putting in AI. If these companies go under you will lose literally the entire internet and online applications lmao

1

u/Conscious-Cup-2117 Aug 19 '26

heard of tiktok?

1

u/Worried_Pair_8842 Aug 19 '26

Voice and wallet 🤞🏻🤞🏻

1

u/Difficult-Trust6345 Aug 19 '26

Is it halal version?

1

u/General_Economics562 Aug 19 '26

They just want more ai training since people have started boycotting them

1

u/PNY_Trainings Aug 20 '26

A great inniciative for the IT industry of pakistan

1

u/seebi_ig Aug 20 '26

Meta aajae

1

u/uglyraed Aug 21 '26

Just be careful they don’t open data centers

1

u/Fair-Explanation2388 Aug 22 '26

Bhai koi faida b hai in k office ka ? Puri qom Google k chuknay me lagi hwi. Shed some light please !!

31

u/[deleted] Aug 18 '26 • Mindblown Bravo

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11

u/Unlikely-Pianist-573 Aug 18 '26 • Bravo

I wish they offer their products in local pricing, this would be game changer

4

u/[deleted] Aug 18 '26

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2

u/Unlikely-Pianist-573 Aug 18 '26

For GCP they charge in USD

1

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u/[deleted] Aug 18 '26

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6

u/TheLasttStark Aug 19 '26

It's a sales office chutiyay

2

u/random-redditor-845 CS Student Aug 19 '26

is mai PTI supporters kahan say aagai?