Now Pakistan has entered in the world of electronic technology, it inters amongst those countries that have advanced digital technologies for e-governance- by installing new digital software’s for the advancement the official.
Another hand the banking sectors and online businesses are also using digital technologies to boost their income, but along with that great development this advanced technology also brought cyber-crimes and digital terrorism in the society, although it has also linked with the instable economy of the country but some of the culprits and evil elements are using that useful technology against the state, that is why now the federal government decided to implement a new law that could deal with the above issues .
According to the news report of an esteemed newspaper that government is welling to tackle propaganda disseminated on online platforms, the incumbent government has prepared a draft to tweak the country’s cybercrime laws with proposals including imprisonment and fine against those found guilty of spreading fake news and propaganda against the state, the media webs reported on Tuesday that the draft also provisions the establishment of a Digital Rights Protection Authority (DRPA) which will have the power to remove and block content that is deemed harmful to public safety or state interests.
It also suggests that spreading false information, inciting fear, or disrupting peace through online platforms could lead to severe penalties under the amended Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016 (PECA)
The proposed tweaks to the cybercrime laws come as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s administration has time again decried misuse of social media platforms for spreading fake news and propaganda that poses a threat to the country’s national interests.
Apart from the restricted X services, the country has been witnessing sporadic internet disruptions resulting in difficulties for the users to share media and access various social media and communications platforms.
The incumbent government has already carried out multiple tests of its internet firewall, with the first and second trials conducted in July and August, respectively.
On both occasions, the trials slowed down internet speeds and disrupted digital platforms. Infect this the right of any government and enterprise or private company to secure its assets form hackers digital criminals but for that purpose only culprit should targeted. As we knows that in our country such kind of laws should always use against innocent citizens so therefor it should be insure that PECA, act will not use against innocents.
In the resent past their were several reports published about PECA, that it could be use against freedom of press, in a report of Clooney foundation of justice, it said that several PECA cases prosecuted by the authorities that implicate the right to freedom of speech: Journalists Bilal Ghauri, Absar Alam, and Asad Ali Toor received summonses from Pakistan’s Federal Investigative Agency (“FIA”) regarding complaints lodged against them under the PECA. Ghauri was summoned, via WhatsApp, without any information on the basis for the complaint, with the summons coming after he uploaded videos on YouTube that challenged the official narrative of Pakistan’s history and army. He explained to Trial Watch, PECA “has made it easier for the authorities in Pakistan to target journalists, and you cannot say anything about it because the law has provided those persecutions with a legal cover.
So such kind of practices must be avoided proposed in the PECA act amendment, law then it would be a success full law to counter those anti-state elements, along with that the common people wants speeding internet system, that could not harm their businesses and professional activities. It is hoped that the government will not only remove the flaws for PECA act but also gives the masses a speedy internet system.
