Pakistan's new cyber law sparks free speech concerns, rights groups demand repeal

New York [US], February 4 (ANI): Human Rights Watch on Tuesday said that internet freedom and free expression are gravely threatened by Pakistan's government's recent amendment to the country's cybercrimes act.
The Pakistan Electronic Crimes (Amendment) Act, 2025 should be promptly repealed or reformed by the Pakistani parliament according to a report by Human Rights Watch.
The new law, which went into effect on January 29, 2025, has clauses that make spreading "fake or false" information a crime that carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison.
Although "fake or false" news is not defined in the amendment, it is subjectively described as information that may "cause fear, panic, disorder, or unrest" using ambiguous and overly general language according to Human Rights Watch.
The government hindered real public review of the new law, which violates fundamental rights and is ambiguous and overbroad, by keeping the business sector and civil society organizations from participating in the bill's consultation, according to a Human Rights Watch report.
According to Patricia Gossman, Associate Asia Director at Human Rights Watch, Pakistan's amended Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act "neither respects fundamental human rights nor protects the public from legitimate online security threats."
"The government ought to protect the freedom of speech and revise the new law by eliminating its unjustified clauses."
The Electronic Crimes Act revisions will expand the definition of online harm and establish four new government agencies to control online content. Government agencies have the power to filter and delete content according to vague rules that don't adhere to the proportionality and necessity requirements set forth by international human rights law as reported by Human Rights Watch.
The Social Media Protection and Regulation Authority, another new organization, has the power to order social media companies to prohibit or remove anything that is considered to be "against the ideology of Pakistan," "fake or false," or disparaging of public figures. Additionally, the authority may mandate that any social media company register with it and impose any "appropriate" conditions on that registration.
The legislation was approved by Parliament amid Pakistan's increasing crackdown on digital speech, which includes regular internet outages and network throttling. Under the pretense of upholding peace and order and preventing disinformation, Pakistani authorities have restricted or banned internet access as a standard policing strategy to end rallies and stop criticism of the government, reported Human Rights Watch.
The new rule is "likely to become yet another means of targeting political workers, human rights defenders, journalists, and dissidents by effectively penalizing criticism of state institutions," according to the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.
The amendment was criticized as a violation of people's rights by the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists, which called for widespread protests. (ANI)