— Fiverr accounts of some Pakistani freelancers made unavailable’due to internet disruptions
— Pakistan to lose millions of dollars every month in this ridiculous experience
— Internet control will have more dangerous consequences
By Irum Saleem
Pakistan is being hit hard. This time in the name of firewall to filter social media bad stuff.
Freelancing platform like “Fiverr” has made several accounts in Pakistan unavailable owing to possible internet disruptions.
“A day ago, a body of internet service providers alleged that the government’s heightened efforts to monitor internet traffic had resulted in a significant nationwide slowdown of services. Internet users have speculated that the disruptions were the result of a firewall being installed by the government to monitor and keep check on users. The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), however, denied that the issue was caused by a firewall,” Dawn reported on Thursday.
Last week, users had faced difficulties in accessing social media platforms — though X (formerly Twitter) has already been banned across the country for almost six months citing “security concerns”.
Three Fiverr users confirmed to Dawn.com that they received a notification from the platform that their profiles have been made “unavailable” to clients — seemingly aimed at preventing a user’s profile from receiving negative ratings as a result of inactivity due to possible internet disruptions.
“However, a Fiverr user from Faisalabad said she did not receive any such notification, indicating that the platform’s action may be limited to certain cities. Last week, I received notification on my Fiverr account from Fiverr support telling me that my gigs are made unavailable to clients across the world because Fiverr came to know that there is internet interruption in Pakistan,” Sajid Hussain, a medical content writer based in Punjab, told Dawn.com.
Hussain shared screenshots of the email sent by Fiverr on August 1, which stated: “We understand that there may be internet disruptions in your area that might make it harder to keep your routine going.
“To make sure any unexpected order delays won’t hurt your ratings, we’re going ahead and temporarily setting your availability status and gig(s) as ‘unavailable’,” it added.
The statement clarified that the action by Fiverr would not negatively impact the freelancer’s ratings.
In case users were actually not facing any internet issues, the notification directed users to a guide on how to turn their availability back on.
Hussain said he was a doctor and worked part-time as a medical content writer via Fiverr.
“I personally knew many friends, juniors, and colleagues who are doctors, but are unemployed and they are using Fiverr to earn their livelihood,” he said.
While Fiverr assured freelancers that their ratings were not being impacted, Hussain claimed: “Recent interruption in the internet has badly affected connectivity especially when someone goes offline on Fiverr, it affects impression and less order from buyers. So yeah, it also affected me too.”
Aiza Shahid, a student from Islamabad, also told Dawn.com about receiving a notification that stated her “account status is considered ‘unavailable’ due to [her] region”.
“This sudden change has left me in a difficult situation, as I rely on Fiverr not just for extra income but for essential financial support,” Shahid lamented.
“For the past three years, I’ve been able to use Fiverr without any regional restrictions, so this sudden unavailability was both unexpected and disruptive. The income from Fiverr wasn’t just extra cash; it was essential,” Shahid highlighted, calling the platform her “lifeline” as it was a means to cover her utility bills and education. The inability to access Fiverr could significantly impact my productivity and my ability to deliver services to clients, which in turn could harm my reputation and future opportunities,” Dawn quoted as the student having said.
A Fiverr user from Islamabad stated in a private Facebook group that he received the notification, adding that it was an “automated measure by Fiverr every time there is a countrywide disruption”.
“You can easily manually turn it back on in two seconds. Everyone is just making a mountain out of a molehill,” he said.
“Fiverr does this so our response rate doesn’t drop if we don’t have the internet to make ourselves unavailable. For them, there won’t be disappointed clients that don’t hear back from potential sellers,” the user explained.
The Shehbaz Sharif government needs to be sensible and stop killing the people’s business associated with Internet. PAK DESTINY
