Pakistani journalists fear amended cybercrime law will further curb freedoms

Voice of America

27-01-2025

Pakistan is pressing ahead with amendments to its digital crimes act to stem what it says is an influx of fake news. But media rights groups warn the changes, if passed, will suppress freedom of expression by exposing journalists and social media users to legal action.
New amendments to the Pakistan Electronic Crimes Act (2025), commonly known as PECA, call for a three-year prison term and a fine of over $7,000 for spreading fake and false information.
The amendments also broaden the definition of content that authorities can block and set up four new bodies to regulate online content.
The amended law now awaits passage in the Senate after its Standing Committee on Interior approved the amendments Monday. The National Assembly, the lower house of the country's bicameral parliament, passed the amended bill last Thursday as opposition members and journalists walked out in protest.
'The fact that [the] interior ministry is involved in this clearly shows that this is being turned into a national security matter,' said Nayyar Ali, secretary of the National Press Club that represents journalists in Islamabad and neighboring Rawalpindi.
The law
Originally promulgated as Pakistan Electronic Crimes Act (2016), PECA, as it is commonly known, was meant to curb cybercrime, online harassment, and the spread of hateful content that could instigate violence.
Media and human rights groups call the law 'draconian' and say successive governments have used it to muzzle dissent.
Press freedom groups have recorded more than 200 incidents of journalists and media persons investigated since PECA became law in 2017.
The latest changes to the law come just days before Pakistan marks a year since its elections last Feb. 8 were marred by allegations of widespread fraud.
Former Prime Minister Imran Khan, one of the most popular leaders, remains in jail and his party is deprived of its share of seats reserved for women and minorities.
However, his supporters continue to run a formidable online campaign when most TV channels avoid saying the leader's name.
'State and private players have been able to tame mainstream media,' said journalist Arifa Noor about the decline in press freedom over the past several years. 'It has pushed a considerable amount of the commentary and reporting onto social media, and this is why they now want to go after social media.
'They can't tame it and they want to tame it,' she said.
Pakistan ranks a low 152 out of 180 countries on Reporters without Borders' global press freedom index, where 1 shows the best media environment. Freedom House ranks it "not free" for internet freedoms.
Amendments
PECA (2025) as approved by the national assembly expands the definition of unlawful content to include information that is false, harmful, and damages the reputation of a person including members of the judiciary, armed forces, parliament or a provincial assembly.
It also broadens the definition of 'person' to include state institutions and corporations.
Critics worry this will muzzle dissent and open doors for the powerful military to target civilians.
Minister for Information for Punjab province Azma Bukhari rejected the concerns as 'undue.'
'The [military] institution also belongs to this country,' he said. 'If the institution has an objection over someone, should it not object [just] because it's an institution?'
The amendments come as Pakistan's military routinely faces criticism online for its role in civilian affairs as well as for its alleged interference in political affairs, which it denies. Faced often with smear campaigns, the military's top brass has repeatedly called for a crackdown on 'digital terrorism.'
'What we need is strong civil laws that treat defamation as a civil problem,' Noor said.
The amended law stipulates a punishment of up to three years in prison and a fine of more than $7,000 for intentionally disseminating information that a person knows or believes is 'false or fake and likely to cause or create a sense of fear, panic or disorder or unrest in general public or society.'
'What is fake news? They don't bother to define it,' Noor, the journalist, said. 'They want to call everything that they don't like fake news.'
Journalists' bodies say the impact of the amended law will not be limited to social media content makers.
'All the media is digital now,' said Ali, secretary of the National Press Club, as mainstream media outlets and prominent journalists use social media to deliver information that can draw state backlash if delivered on TV channels.
New powers
The bill proposes creating a Digital Rights Protection Authority, a Social Media Complaint Council, a Social Media Protection Tribunal and a National Cyber Crime Investigation Authority.
Decisions made by the tribunal can only be challenged in the Supreme Court, bypassing the traditional appeals process that includes provincial high courts.
Punjab information minister Bukhari defended the amendment saying, 'we are giving access to the highest forum in the country.' However, the Press Club's Ali said most citizens do not have the financial means to approach the country's top court through lawyers.
Bukhari, who has been a target of an AI-generated smear campaign, told VOA that Pakistan needs such a law.
'Those who deal in fake news should be fearful of this law,' she said. 'Those who file with checks and balances should not worry.'
However, Noor said journalists are also caught in a bind when government officials give contradictory information that causes the spread of false information.
Rushed passage
Some journalists' bodies have said they support government efforts to regulate digital spaces, however they are questioning the speedy passage of the amended law in the National Assembly and approval of amendments by the Senate committee.
Expressing concern over the chilling effects of the amendments, the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan as well as Amnesty International last week called on the government to consult journalist bodies before turning the bill into law.
In a statement Thursday, the Joint Action Committee, a coalition of major media bodies of the country 'rejected any PECA amendments that are passed or approved without consultation with media bodies.'
The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists has called for nationwide protests on Tuesday afternoon.