Silencing Pakistan - Newspaper

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TODAY'S PAPER | JULY 29, 2023
Silencing Pakistan
Usama Khilji | Published July 28, 2023 | Updated about 16 hours ago

https://www.dawn.com/news/1767243/silencing-pakistan 1/14
7/29/23, 12:26 AM Silencing Pakistan - Newspaper - DAWN.COM
The writer is director of Bolo Bhi, an advocacy forum for digital rights.
0:00 / 6:47 1x 1.2x 1.5x

THE project to scare Pakistani citizens into silence
continues, this time with a desperate last-minute
effort by the current government at the end of its

tenure.
Three pieces of legislation and amendments to a set of the

Rules are about to be bulldozed through parliament and
the cabinet. The Prime Minister’s Office has stated that a
Personal Data Protection Bill, 2023, and an E-Safety bill,
that still has not been made public, are to be tabled soon.
Another bill proposing amendments to Peca, 2016, and
social media rules is also due to be tabled.
The Peca amendment bill includes measures that will roll

back the freedom of speech rights of Pakistani citizens,
cementing Peca as Pakistan’s premier censorship law.
It proposes the addition of Section 20-A, titled “fake or

false information” with a five-year punishment in case of
conviction and a Rs1 million fine for disseminating,
publicly exhibiting, and transmitting “any information
through any information system”, which one “knows or has
reason to believe to be false or fake and likely to cause or
create a sense of fear, panic or disorder or unrest in general
public or in society”. Such broad terminology and vague
criteria are clearly meant to be abused by the state to clamp
down on criticism of its policies.
Moreover, this will impact RELATED

Impact of new ‘cyber laws’ may
journalism as reporting that be felt far and wide
does not toe the state’s line
will be questioned and prosecuted.
Furthermore, the bill proposes to add Section 20-A to the

list of offences that are cognisable, non-bailable, and non-
compoundable, empowering the FIA to arrest anyone
accused of spreading “fake or false information” without a
warrant, not have the option of bail or compromise.
This will have a chilling effect on Pakistanis, especially

journalists, activists, and political workers; and is the most
draconian attempted attack on freedom of speech in
Pakistan yet.
The amendment bill will

cement Peca as Pakistan’s
premier censorship law.
Another proposal in the Peca amendment bill is

substituting Section 37, which deals with “unlawful online
content” with a new iteration of Section 37, which includes
additions from the previous version of the Removal and
Blocking of Unlawful Online Content Rules, 2021,
promulgated by the PTI government and opposed by the
PPP and PML-N. The Islamabad High Court in 2022 had
ruled that these rules are unconstitutional. The PDM
government is now pasting the rules onto Peca and passing
them through parliament.
The new Section 37 adds 16 different types of content

indicating that the PTA can order social media companies
to block or remove these; and these stipulations are to
override the community standards or rules that social
media companies have globally for all jurisdictions.
The most concerning of these includes Part C relating to

content that “incites or is likely to incite public to take the
law in own hands”; Part L relates to content that is “known
to be fake or false”, which is similar to the proposed
Section 20-A; Section M relates to content that “contains
aspersions against the judiciary or armed forces of
Pakistan”, effectively making it illegal to criticise their
decisions; and Section N outlines content that “amounts to
intimidation, blackmailing or false incrimination of any

person”.
These sections use broad and vague terminology leaving

room for abuse, especially for content critical of state
policies, and threatens press freedom.
Section 37-A proposes actions that the PTA will take in

case of failure of social media companies to comply with
the PTA’s censorship demands, including degradation of
services and blocking an entire social media platform
subject to approval from an inter-ministerial committee,
which is repeated in the RBUCR (Removal and Blocking of
Unlawful Content Rules) 2023.
It appears that the economic RELATED
impact of blocking entire

platforms, as seen with the
blocking of Wikipedia, Twitter, and Facebook earlier this
year and TikTok in the past is lost on the government. With
appeals before the PTA preceding the option of appeal to a
high court, it makes the PTA judge, jury, and executioner
without due process.
The proposed RBUCR, 2023, requires social media

companies to open local offices so their employees can be
coerced into compliance with censorship orders, something

that has already been happening in India.
They empower any person or government department or

agency to report social media content to the PTA, with
social media companies being given 12, 48, and 72 hours to
remove or block content categorised as “emergency, high
risk, and standard review”, respectively.
This is also obvious in the supposedly revised draft of the

Personal Data Protection Bill that the PDM government is
trying to pass which is not much different than the PTI
government’s.
The most concerning clause deals with data localisation

where companies are being forced to open data centres in
Pakistan and process critical personal data, as well as a
requirement for companies to share sensitive personal data
with the government, with broad definitions of what
constitutes critical and sensitive personal data.
This can lead to international companies ceasing to offer

certain services because of the high compliance cost,
something that beats the purpose of the internet which is
to make communication, information exchange, and
business easier.
This will increase the cost for local technology start-ups,

impacting the innovation and technology sector that is
already experiencing brain drain. With an economy in
crisis, the IT sector is one of the few hopes we have; but
such short-sighted measures that make Pakistan into a
police state are counterproductive to progress and growth.
Tech companies have reacted strongly through the Asia

Internet Coalition which has termed the PDPB as “falling
short of international standards for data protection”.
Pakistan would be better off creating a conducive

environment for technology and social media companies to
operate rather than arm twisting them into sharing user
data and censoring content in violation of international
human rights law. These bills pose a huge challenge to
rights and the IT economy of the country. What side of
history does the PDM government want to be on?
The writer is director of Bolo Bhi, an advocacy forum for

digital rights.
Twitter: @UsamaKhilji
Published in Dawn, July 28th, 2023

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7/29/23, 12:26 AM Silencing Pakistan - Newspaper - DAWN.

TODAY'S PAPER | JULY 29, 2023

0:00 / 6:47 1x 1.2x 1.5x

effort by the current government at the end of its

Three pieces of legislation and amendments to a set of the

The Peca amendment bill includes measures that will roll

It proposes the addition of Section 20-A, titled “fake or

Moreover, this will impact RELATED

Furthermore, the bill proposes to add Section 20-A to the

This will have a chilling effect on Pakistanis, especially

The amendment bill will

Another proposal in the Peca amendment bill is

The new Section 37 adds 16 different types of content

The most concerning of these includes Part C relating to

intimidation, blackmailing or false incrimination of any

These sections use broad and vague terminology leaving

Section 37-A proposes actions that the PTA will take in

It appears that the economic RELATED

impact of blocking entire

The proposed RBUCR, 2023, requires social media

coerced into compliance with censorship orders, something

They empower any person or government department or

This is also obvious in the supposedly revised draft of the

The most concerning clause deals with data localisation

This can lead to international companies ceasing to offer

This will increase the cost for local technology start-ups,

Tech companies have reacted strongly through the Asia

Pakistan would be better off creating a conducive

The writer is director of Bolo Bhi, an advocacy forum for

Published in Dawn, July 28th, 2023

LAW: A Some cabinet

Mazari PepsiCo Pakistan and WWF-Pakistan join

PTI’s Asad Umar questions Niger military council takes

jail for disclosing sensitive

Editorial: PDM govt

Control.pk SIFC initiative UNGA resolution

27 Jul, 2023 Updated 27 Jul, 2023 27 Jul, 2023

Terrorist threat Bye bye birdie

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