Tech Desk
Aug 15, 2024
Fiverr, a popular freelancing platform, has temporarily made several accounts in Pakistan “unavailable” due to reported “internet disruptions”, according to users on the site.
This decision has raised concerns among rights activists about the impact on the livelihoods of freelancers and service providers who depend on the platform.
The issue emerged a day after a coalition of internet service providers accused the Pakistani government of increasing its monitoring efforts, which they claim have caused a significant slowdown in internet services across the country. This situation has led to widespread speculation among internet users that the disruptions might be due to a firewall installed by the government to monitor and control online activities. However, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has denied these claims, stating that the disruptions are not caused by a firewall.
According to Dawn.com, three Fiverr users confirmed that they received notifications from the platform stating their profiles had been made “unavailable” to clients. This measure appears to be a precautionary step by Fiverr to prevent negative ratings on profiles due to inactivity, which might result from the current internet issues.
In recent weeks, users in Pakistan have reported difficulties accessing social media platforms. Additionally, X (formerly Twitter) has been banned across the country for nearly six months due to “security concerns”.
On the Fiverr community page, staff notified users on July 31 that the region was impacted by internet outages, prompting Fiverr to take action. A Fiverr staff member wrote:
“On July 31, we were notified that the region was impacted by internet outages. We immediately took action to ensure that your account was not affected by unexpected and unpreventable delays.”
“On August 1, we temporarily set all gigs and availability statuses for our Pakistani sellers to unavailable, ensuring your ratings and success score were not impacted by factors outside of your control.”
Freelancers can easily and quickly reactivate their availability by following the steps mentioned on Fiverr’s support page.
Later, in response to a user’s query on Fiverr’s community platform, one of the company’s staffers posted a similar statement on Tuesday.
Lena, a Fiverr staffer, said: “We understand that there may be internet disruptions. To make sure any unexpected order delays won’t hurt your seller ratings, we set Pakistani sellers into out-of-office mode."
“We’ll also make sure that any currently open orders that are unfulfilled won’t affect your ratings. Your account is fully operational and will continue to be,” the Fiverr staffer stated, clarifying that users themselves could revert their status to available.
The move by Fiverr has raised questions about the broader implications for freelancers who rely on stable internet connections to earn their livelihoods. Many fear that prolonged disruptions could have a detrimental impact on their ability to work and maintain their online presence.
