This effectively renders any criticism of the government or its officials liable to be labelled as ‘unlawful’, especially in the absence of the mention of malicious intent, which is a test used in legislation to mitigate prosecution of good faith acts. Yet again, the PTA is empowered to interpret the constitutional language of Article 260 for definition of government officials. Most controversially, there is an addition to the definition of “integrity, security and defence of Pakistan” - the Rules include the “dissemination of an information which intimidates or harms the reputation of Federal or Provincial Government or any person holding public office … brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards the Federal or provincial Government”. This can especially threaten the already persecuted religious minorities, as well as become controversial considering disagreements over interpretations among followers of different sects of Islam. In the exceptions to the freedom of speech rule, these Rules go one step further by defining the “glory of Islam” as per the blasphemy laws of Pakistan under Chapter XV of the PPC. This is why none of the international social media platforms are functional in China.Īs it is, Section 37 of Peca - for which these Rules stipulate detailed procedure - borrows language from Article 19 of the Constitution, interpreting which is a function of the superior judiciary and not the job of a PTA official.
It is important to note that companies do not do this as it contravenes international human rights principles relating to speech and privacy, by way of empowering a government to control what its citizens can say. Going into the specifics of the Rules, they stipulate content regulation guidelines and expect all internet companies to implement them above their own globally applicable community guidelines, outlining types of content that will be deemed unlawful and should be removed within a day at the PTA’s request. The new Rules undermine the citizens’ right to privacy and enhance the state’s surveillance powers. Third, they flout due process and accountability again as the PTA is empowered to complain, investigate, adjudicate, execute, and review appeals all on its own before a website owner or social media platform can appeal the restriction or blocking of online content in the high court.
Second, the new Rules also apply to internet service providers - which include telecom operators and broadband operators - apart from social media companies.
#Draconian define code#
For one, they quote definitions of crimes in the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) sections, and empower the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority to interpret these and decide what content it deems unlawful, without any due process or trial. On a macro level, there have been a few fundamental changes in the Rules as compared to the earlier version. The lack of meaningful consultation with stakeholders has been pointed out several times, and the change in the name of the rules and content make the mala fide intent of the state clear: they are nothing but yet another attempt to control narratives and silence citizens in a way that is unconstitutional, disproportionate, impractical, and detrimental to Pakistan’s development. There has been no clarification regarding their status by the government. It is important to note that these rules presumably replace the ‘Citizen Protection Against Online Harm Rules 2020’ which were notified in February by the federal cabinet but never denotified after promises to change them were announced in the face of local and international criticism against their draconian nature. Titled ‘Removal and Blocking of Unlawful Online Content (Procedure, Oversight and Safeguards) Rules 2020’, these are meant to guide the implementation of Section 37 (unlawful online content) of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca) 2016. A SET of rules to censor content on the internet have been notified by the government and are likely to fundamentally alter the internet as we know it in Pakistan.
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