28th July, 2023 — The Pakistan Digital Editors Alliance (PDEA) raises alarm over the approval given to the E-Safety Bill, 2023, and the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2023 by the federal cabinet on 26th July, 2023. The alliance believes that the Pakistani media landscape is overregulated and further legislation poses a threat to the right of citizens, media practitioners, human rights defenders, and opposing voices to exercise their right to free speech and expression in online spaces.
The E-Safety Bill is being presented under the guise of preventing “online harassment”, “cyber bullying”, and “blackmailing”, all of which have provisions under the controversial Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016 — also known as PECA — and another such law poses a threat to fundamental freedoms of the Pakistani citizens and their online activity. The legal provisions under PECA and their flawed implementation have resulted in stifling dissent and targeting political activists, journalists, and social media users, as well as the law being used to silence survivors of online violence.
Giving the new authority the power to grant licences to websites, including those for web channels, is alarming as the licencing processes in the country remain opaque and have often, as observed in the case of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), led to market monopoly and concentration.
Moreover, empowering any authority to block and fine websites for running “false” news without defining the parameters of the term may lead to misuse of powers, and thereby, silencing dissent. At present, over one million websites remain blocked in Pakistan without any proper justification.
The Personal Data Protection Bill does, on the other hand, pose its own set of challenges. The non-existent transparency mechanisms in the country coupled with history of targeting opposing voices, it is possible that it may lead to abuse of power and targeted intimidation as well as indiscriminate surveillance of citizens who use the Internet.
The PDEA urges the government to hold multi-stakeholder engagements with members of tech, media, and e-commerce industries for informative discussions before passing any law on regulation of online media and data protection. Any law passed in haste may have detrimental effects towards fundamental rights of the Pakistani people.