Sour

ce:
Dawn
Ôpi
niont
it
le:i
nter
netpol
icymaki
ng
Dat
e:Nov
ember08,
2020
Cat
egor
y:I
nter
net&censor
shi
p
wr
it
er:
Usamakhi
lj
i
Edi
tedby
:mubassi
rAl
iShahWhat
sApp03005755631
MUCHof2020hasbeenmar r
ed‫ﺎ‬ ‫ﻧ‬
‫ﻮ‬‫ﺍﺏﮨ‬‫ﺮ‬‫ﺧ‬byuncer taint y‫ﺮ‬‫ﯿ‬‫ﻏ‬
‫ﺎﻝ‬‫ﺗﺤ‬‫ﺭ‬‫ﻮ‬‫ﻨﯽ ﺻ‬ ‫ﯿ‬
‫ﻘ‬‫ﯾ‬r
egardi
ngt hest ateofsoci almedi ain
Paki stan.Withsurpri
senewr ulesintheabsenceof
consul tati
on‫ﺭﺕ‬ ‫ﻭ‬‫ﺎ‬
‫ﻣﺸ‬ortranspar ency ‫ﯿﺖ‬‫ﻓ‬‫ﺎ‬
‫ﻔ‬‫ﺷ‬, bl
anketbans
onpl at f
ormsand, absurdly‫ﻮﻝ‬ ‫ﻘ‬‫ﻌ‬‫ﻣ‬‫ﺎ‬
‫ﻧ‬,
ev envideogames, and
mi suseofl awsagainstf reedom ofspeechont hei nternet;
i
thasbeenadi smal‫ﮐ‬‫ﻮﺱ ﻦ‬ ‫ﯾ‬‫ﺎ‬‫ﻣ‬yearwher esuchant ics‫ﺎ‬ ‫ﮐﮭ‬‫ﻮ‬
‫ﻧ‬‫ﺍ‬
‫ﻤﻞ‬‫ﻋ‬f rustrat
ed‫ﺎ‬‫ﻧ‬
‫ﺮ‬‫ﻮﺱﮐ‬ ‫ﯾ‬‫ﺎ‬
‫ﻣ‬t hest rugglesthatcamewi tht he
global pandemi c‫ﻭ‬
‫ﺎ‬,
‫ﺑ‬r athert hanmaki ngt heinternetasaf e
spacef orapopulace‫ﻡ‬‫ﺍ‬‫ﻮ‬‫ﻋ‬i nlockdown.
Inter
net-
relatedlawandpol icy
maki nginPakistanisas
newasany whereelseint heworld,andrequires
utmost‫ﺋﯽ‬‫ﺎ‬‫ﮩ‬
‫ﺘ‬ ‫ﻧ‬
‫ﺍ‬cauti
onandexper t
iseconsideri
ngt hereis
l
ittl
eprecedent‫ﺎ‬
‫ﺜﻝ‬r‫ ﻣ‬el
atedtoit.Howev er
, i
tisimpor tant
thatint
ernetlawsandpol ici
esbedemocr ati
c, t
ranspar ent
,
consult
ative‫ﺗﯽ‬‫ﺭ‬‫ﻭ‬
‫ﺎ‬‫ﻣﺸ‬,well-
inf
ormed, pract
ical
,andr ights
respecti
ng.
Peca2016—t heprimaryl
awgov erningthei nter
netin
Pakistan—doesnotmeetmanyoft hesest andards.I
tisa
productofthePML- Ngovernmentwhi chfacedopposi ti
on
fr
om t hePTI;thePTIhasonl yworkedt omaket he
i
mpact‫ﺍ‬ ‫ﺮ‬
‫ﺛ‬wor se‫ﺍﺏ‬‫ﺮ‬‫ﺧ‬withthecensorship,chill
i
ngef f
ect,
andr estr
ict
ionoffreedomst hatt
hel awseemedt ohav e
beeni nt
ended‫ﺎ‬‫ﻨ‬‫ﮐﮭ‬
‫ﮦﺭ‬‫ﺩ‬‫ﺍ‬‫ﺭ‬
‫ﺍ‬for
.
Oneoft hemostcont r
ov ersi
al ‫ﮧ‬‫ﺯﻋ‬ ‫ﺎ‬
‫ﻨ‬‫ﺘ‬‫ﻣ‬par tsoft hislawdeal s
withcont entr egulationont hei nter netunderSect ion37.It
mandat es‫ﺎﻥ‬‫ﻣ‬ ‫ﺮ‬‫ﻓ‬
،‫ﮑﻢ‬‫ﺣ‬t hePTAt opr escr ibe‫ﮦ‬ ‫ﺩ‬‫ﺮ‬ ‫ﺰﮐ‬‫ﯾ‬‫ﻮ‬ ‫ﺗﺠ‬rules
“wit
ht heappr oval ofthef eder al gov er nment ”“prov i
ding
for,
amongot hermat t
er s,
saf eguar ds, transpar entpr ocess
andef fectiveov ersight‫ﻧﯽ‬ ‫ﺍ‬
‫ﺮ‬‫ﮕ‬‫ﻧ‬mechani sm f orexer ciseof
power s”forbl ockingandr emov al of“ unl awf ul ‫ﻧﯽ‬‫ﻮ‬‫ﻧ‬‫ﺎ‬
‫ﺮﻗ‬ ‫ﯿ‬
‫ﻏ‬
onli
necont ent”.Unl awf ulonlinecont enti sspeci f
iedas
contentt hattheaut hor i
tycanr emov eori ssuei nstructi
ons
toblockf oraccess‫ﺎﺉ‬ ‫ﺭﺳ‬ ،
‫ﻨﭻ‬‫ﮩ‬‫ﭘ‬i
nPaki stan“ ifitconsi der sit
necessar yint heint erestoft hegl ory‫ﻤﺖ‬ ‫ﻋﻈ‬ofI slam ort he
i
ntegrity‫ﯿﺖ‬ ‫ﻤ‬‫ﻟ‬
‫ﺎ‬‫ﺳ‬,secur ityordef enceofPaki stanoranypar t
thereof‫ﺎ‬‫ﺰﮐ‬‫ﯿ‬‫ﺍﺱﭼ‬ ,publ i
cor der,decency ‫ﮕﯽ‬ ‫ﺘ‬‫ﺋﺴ‬ ‫ﺎ‬
‫ﺷ‬or
mor ali
ty‫ﺎﺕ‬‫ﯿ‬‫ﻗ‬‫ﺧﻼ‬,‫ﺍ‬ori nr elat
iont ocont emptofcour tor
commi ssionori ncitement ‫ﺎ‬
‫ﻧ‬‫ﺎ‬
‫ﮐﺴ‬ ‫ﺍ‬ t
oanof fence‫ﻡ‬ ‫ﺮ‬‫”ﺟ‬
Thisl
anguagei stakendirect
lyfr
om Arti
cle19oft he
Const
itut
ion,whichistobei nter
pret
ed‫ﺎ‬‫ﻧ‬
‫ﺮ‬‫ﻧﯽﮐ‬ ‫ﺎ‬
‫ﻤ‬‫ﺮﺟ‬‫ﺗ‬byonl
y
thehi
gherjudici
arysubjecttoreasonabl
er estr
icti
ons
whichareinter
pretedbythehonour ablejudgesusingrul
es
ofstat
utory‫ﻧﯽ‬‫ﻮ‬
‫ﻧ‬‫ﺎ‬‫ﻗ‬int
erpr
etati
on,andcer t
ainlynotsubj
ect
tothewhims‫ﮨﺶ‬ ‫ﺍ‬‫ﻮ‬‫ﺧ‬ofof f
icer
soft hePTA.Thi sbegs‫ﺎ‬‫ﻨ‬
‫ﮕ‬‫ﻧ‬‫ﺎ‬
‫ﻣ‬
thenecessit
yforamendment ‫ﯿﻢ‬
‫ﻣ‬‫ﺮ‬‫ﺗ‬tothisclause‫ﻊ‬‫ﻓ‬‫ﺩ‬of
Pecawhichi sprimari
lyi
ntendedforonl i
necensorship
rat
herthanany t
hingelse.

Butev enifwear et oconsiderthissect ionaspassedby

parli
ament ,t
her ulesunderSect i
on37ar esupposedt o
provideforsaf eguar ds,tr
anspar entprocess, andef f
ect i
ve
oversight‫ﻧﯽ‬
‫ﺍ‬‫ﺮ‬‫ﮕ‬‫ﻧ‬mechani sm fortheexer ciseofpower .But
whatdi dweseei nstead?Sweepi ngaddi ti
onal powers
beingmandat edt ot hePTAgoi ngev enbey ondt hebr oad
power softhepar entlegisl
ation,requirementofdat a
l
ocal i
sati
on‫ﺎ‬‫ﻧ‬
‫ﺮ‬‫ﯿﻦﮐ‬ ‫ﻌ‬‫ﺗ‬andset t
ingupofof ficesbyi nter
net
platf
or msinPaki stan,impositi
on‫ﺎ‬ ‫ﻧ‬
‫ﺮ‬‫ﻠﻂﮐ‬‫ﻣﺴ‬ ofcont ent
regulati
onregimes‫ﯿﮟ‬ ‫ﺘ‬
‫ﻣ‬‫ﻮ‬‫ﮑ‬‫ﺣ‬whi char etobegi v en
preference‫ﯿﺢ‬‫ﺮﺟ‬ ‫ﺗ‬ov ertheuniversal pl
atformr ules.
Therul
esalsothreat
ent oblocktheentir
eplatformi f
demandsforcontentremoval orbl
ockingbyt hePTAar e
notcompli
edwith‫ﯿﻞ‬‫ﻤ‬‫ﻌ‬
‫ﺗﮫﺗ‬‫ﺎ‬‫ﮯﺳ‬,‫ﮐ‬whichgoesagai nstthe
l
imit
ati
onoftheliabi
li
ty‫ﺭﯼ‬‫ﺍ‬
‫ﮧﺩ‬‫ﻣ‬‫ﺫ‬ofservi
cepr oviders(or
i
ntermedi
ari
es)bylawv iaSection38ofPeca.Ther eis
al
sonoguidanceonpr otecti
ons,orexplanati
onoft he
vague‫ﮩﻢ‬
‫ﺒ‬‫ﻣ‬t
erminol
ogiest
hatar
emostof
tenabused‫ﻠﻂ‬
‫ﻏ‬
‫ﺎﻝ‬‫ﻤ‬
‫ﻌ‬‫ﺘ‬‫ﺍﺳ‬f
orbl
anketcensor
shi
p.
Thiswast hever sionofther ulesnot ifi
edbyt hecabi netin
February2020t itl
ed‘Cit
izenPr otect
ionRul es’,wi
th
barely‫ﺳ‬
‫ﮑﻞ ﮯ‬ ‫ﻣﺸ‬any thi
ngrelev ant‫ﮧ‬‫ﻘ‬‫ﻠ‬
‫ﻌ‬‫ﺘ‬‫ﻣ‬tocitizenprotecti
on.
Thesect ionsthatact uall
ypr ot ectci
tizens—Sect i
ons11,
12,16,21, 22,24—ar enotr elatedtoSect i
on37t hat
requir
esuchr ul es.Noconsul tation‫ﺭﺕ‬ ‫ﻭ‬‫ﺎ‬
‫ﻣﺸ‬washel dwi t
h
stakeholders,ther ewasnot ransparencyr egardingthe
process,andt hei rnoti
fi
cationcameasasur pri
seto
everyone.
TheGl obal Net wor kIniti
ati
ve( GNI),amul ti
-stakehol der
networ kthati ncludest echcompani es, academi cs,civil
society,andi nv estorsinitscontentr egul ati
onbr i
efthat
wasal soshar edwi t
hPTAandt hemi nist ri
esofI Tand
humanr ightsr ecommendst hatcont entr egul ati
on
processesar e“ open, i
nclusi
v e‫ﻣﻞ‬‫ﺎ‬‫ﺷ‬,deliberativ e‫ﮐ‬
‫ﻮﺟﮫ ﺮ‬‫ﺎﻥﺑ‬‫ﺟ‬,
andev idence- based” ,andunder scores‫ﺎ‬‫ﻧ‬ ‫ﺮ‬‫ﺮﮐ‬‫ﮨ‬‫ﺎ‬
‫ﻇ‬t hat
“defi
niti
onsandobl i
gationsshoul dbecl earandt argeted
atser v
icest hatf acet hemostr i
sk”.Italsoi dent i
fies
“str
ongt ranspar ency,remedy ‫ﻋﻼﺝ‬, andov ersight‫ﻧﯽ‬ ‫ﺍ‬
‫ﺮ‬‫ﮕ‬‫ﻧ‬
measur es, t
oget herwiththepr eservation‫ﻔﻆ‬ ‫ﺗﺤ‬ of
i
ntermedi ar
y‫ﻧﯽ‬ ‫ﺎ‬
‫ﯿ‬‫ﻣ‬‫ﺭ‬‫ﺩ‬safeharbour sforuser -
gener ated
content,asi mpor tantcharacteri
st i
csofef fectivecont ent
regulati
on” .
Afterstrongoppositionfrom ci
v i
lsociety ,i
nter
net
compani es,andcollecti
vessuchast heGNIandAsi a
InternetCoali
ti
on,theruleswer e“suspended”butnev erde
-notifi
edasperlaw.Someconsul t
ati
onsensuedwi th
stakeholderswhichhumanr i
ght sorgani sati
onsboycot
ted
owi ngto‫ﮧﺳﮯ‬ ‫ﮐﯽﻭﺟ‬nof ormal de-noti
fication,andnowa
draftnotv er
ydiff
erentthanthepr eviousonei ssai
dto
hav ebeennot i
fi
ed,butnotshar edpubl icly.
Foranyconsul t
ati
vepr ocesstobel egiti
mate‫ﺰ‬‫ﺋ‬
‫ﺎ‬‫ﺟ‬،
‫ﻧﯽ‬‫ﻮ‬‫ﻧ‬‫ﺎ‬
‫ﻗ‬,
feedbackshouldeitherbeinculcat
edi ntothelegalor
poli
cyinstrument,
andi fnot,t
henaj usti
fi
cati
onshouldbe
provi
dedf orwhyther ecommendat ionswer enottaken
i
ntoaccount .Whatweseepr esent
lyi sthatconsult
ati
ons
areaney ewash‫ﮧ‬‫ﮐ‬‫ﻮ‬‫ﺩﮬ‬totrytolendlegiti
macyt o
draconian‫ﺳﺨﺖ‬measur es.Forcompar i
sonsake,theUK’s
onli
nehar mr ul
eshavebeenunderconsul t
ati
onforover
twoy ears.
Turkeyr ecentl
ypassedv erysimilarrulest otheones
Pakistanisaboutt oissue,andsoci almedi acompani es
havepubl icl
yrefusedtocompl y‫ﺎ‬‫ﻧ‬‫ﺮ‬‫ﯿﻞﮐ‬ ‫ﻤ‬
‫ﻌ‬ ‫ﺗ‬wi
ththedemands.
SodoesPaki stanwantt ogodownt her oadofChina
whichi sdisconnectedfrom therestoft hewor l
dthrough
i
tsfirewall t
hatdoesnotallowgl obal connect i
vi
ty?
Pakistanisnoti nsuchaposi ti
on, andi tisal
soa
democr aticrepubli
c,unl
ikeChina, withconst i
tuti
onal
pr
otect
ionsoff
undament
alr
ight
s.
Compani esarealsounwi l
li
ngtoopenl ocalof f
icesand
databasesbecauseofweakr ul
eofl aw, l
owr anki ngof
Pakistanonglobal i
nter
netandpr essfreedom i ndices,and
analreadyunpredictabl
e‫ﻊ‬‫ﻗ‬‫ﻮ‬‫ﺘ‬
‫ﺮﻣ‬‫ﯿ‬‫ﻏ‬censor shi
pecosy st
em
whereappsandgamesar eblockedarbitrar
il
y ‫ﺪﮮ‬ ‫ﺎﻋ‬‫ﮯﻗ‬,
‫ﺑ‬and
tel
ecom offi
cesar esealedatwhim ‫ﮨﺶ‬ ‫ﺍ‬
‫ﻮ‬ ‫ﺧ‬byst ate
agencies.
sol
uti
onandconcl
usi
on
ForaDi git
al Pakistant hatwant si t
st alent edy oungpeopl
e
tocreaterathert hanseekj obs, t
hei nter netlawand
poli
cy makingpr ocessmustbeconsul tat i
ve,involv
eall
stakeholders,bet ransparent ,t
akei ntoaccount
fundament alri
ght s,under standt henat ur eoft heinter
net
,
andbeev i
dence- basedr athert hanr oot edi nar egi
meof
controlandcensor ship.
Thewri
teri
sdir
ect
orofBol
oBhi
,anadv
ocacyf
orum f
or
di
git
alr
ight
s.
Sour
ce:
DAWN
ar
ti
clet
it
le:
Anewbegi
nni
ng
Dst
e:Nov
ember08,
2020
cat
egor
y:USpol
icyaf
terel
ect
ion
THEAmer icanpeopl ehav emadet hei
rdecisi
on.JosephR.
Bidenwillbet henextpr esidentoft heUnitedStatesof
Amer i
caandKamal aHar riswi l
lbet hefi
rstwomanv ice
presi
dent.Ther esultwasdel iver
edaf termonthsofahigh
poli
ti
caldramat hatculminat ed‫ﺎ‬‫ﻧ‬‫ﻮ‬‫ﺮﮨ‬‫ﯾ‬‫ﺬ‬‫ﻡﭘ‬‫ﺎ‬
‫ﺘ‬‫ﺘ‬
‫ﺍﺣ‬ i
nachaotic
‫ﻟﺖ‬ ‫ﺎ‬
‫ﻤﯽﮐﯽﺣ‬ ‫ﻧﻈ‬‫ﺪ‬‫ﺎﺑ‬
‫ﺮﯼﯾ‬ ‫ﻔ‬
‫ﺗ‬‫ﺍ‬‫ﺮ‬‫ﻓ‬
‫ﺍ‬electiondayandbey ond,wit
hMr
Bidenslowl ygaini
ngt henumber st obeat
i
ncumbent ‫ﮦ‬ ‫ﺩ‬‫ﻮ‬
‫ﻮﺟ‬ ‫ﻣ‬USPr esidentDonal dTrump.
Theel ectioni nAmer icamar kedahi storicturnoutwi than
unprecedent ed‫ﺎﻝ‬‫ﺜ‬‫ﮯﻣ‬n‫ ﺑ‬umberofv otes—ar emi ndert hat
democr acy ‫ﯾﺖ‬ ‫ﺭ‬‫ﻮ‬‫ﮩ‬‫ﻤ‬‫ﺟ‬int heUSi sani deal thatitsci t
izens
holddear .Aheadofhi svi
ctory,MrBi densought‫ﺎ‬ ‫ﻧ‬
‫ﺮ‬‫ﺗﻼﺵﮐ‬
tolookbey ondt heel ecti
on, andurged‫ﺎ‬ ‫ﻧ‬
‫ﺮ‬‫ﺰﮐ‬ ‫ﯾ‬
‫ﻮ‬‫ﺎﺗﺠ‬ ‫ﺎﯾ‬‫ﻨ‬‫ﯾ‬
‫ﺭﺩ‬ ‫ﻭ‬
‫ﺯ‬
calm asPr esidentTr umpr emai nedindeni al‫ﺭ‬
‫ﺎ‬‫ﮑ‬‫ﻧ‬‫ﺍ‬‫ﺎ‬‫ﯾ‬
‫ﺎ‬‫ﻧ‬‫ﺮ‬
‫ﮑ‬‫ﻣ‬
aboutt her esultsandescal ated‫ﺎ‬‫ﻧ‬
‫ﺎ‬‫ﮍﮬ‬‫ﺑ‬tensionsby
all
eging‫ﺎ‬‫ﻧ‬‫ﺎ‬
‫ﮕ‬ ‫ﻟ‬‫ﻡ‬‫ﺍ‬‫ﺰ‬‫ﻟ‬
‫ﺍ‬thatpol l
i
ngi nsomest at
eswas
“f
raudul ent‫ﮨﯽ‬ ‫ﮧﺩ‬‫ﮐ‬‫ﻮ‬‫ﺩﮬ‬”.Withwor dsthatst rov e‫ﺎ‬‫ﻧ‬
‫ﺮ‬ ‫ﺪﮐ‬‫ﮩ‬‫ﻭﺟ‬‫ﺪ‬ ‫ﺟ‬to
unit
er athert handi vi
det hecount ry,theincomi ng
presi
dentv owed‫ﺎ‬ ‫ﻧ‬‫ﺮ‬
‫ﺪﮐ‬ ‫ﮩ‬‫ﺎﻋ‬‫ﺎﯾ‬
‫ﻧ‬‫ﺮ‬‫ﺭﮐ‬‫ﺍ‬
‫ﺮ‬‫ﻗ‬‫ﺍ‬toputt hehar sh
rhet
ori
c‫ﺯﯼ‬‫ﺎ‬
‫ﺎﻥﺑ‬
‫ﯿ‬‫ﺑ‬oft
hecampai
gnbehindand“
touni
te,
to
heal
,tocometoget
herasanat
ion”
.
Thet i
mel eadi ngupt ot heel ect i
onsawapol arised‫ﮧ‬ ‫ﻓ‬‫ﺮ‬‫ﮑﻄ‬‫ﯾ‬
‫ﺎ‬‫ﻧ‬
‫ﺎ‬‫ﻮﺟ‬ ‫ﮨ‬count ry—ani ndicat i
onofj usthowdi f
ficul tthej ob
aheadi sf orMrBi den.Hewi l
l bet hepr esi
dentofadi vided
Amer ica, wher eciti
zensar er eelingf rom my ri
ad‫ﺎ‬ ‫ﮨ‬‫ﺭ‬‫ﺍ‬‫ﺰ‬‫ﮨ‬
i
ssues, includi ngthehi ghestnumberofCov i
d- 19
i
nfect ionsanddeat hsi nt hewor ld, l
ockdown- induced
j
obl essness, raci
alinequal it
y‫ﺍﺕ‬ ‫ﻭ‬‫ﺎ‬‫ﻡﻣﺴ‬ ‫ﺪ‬‫ﻠﯽﻋ‬‫ﻧﺴ‬,andl imited
accesst oaf fordabl
eheal thcar e.Toaddt othechal lenge,
Presi dentTr umpi smaki ngdanger ousat t
empt st ocast
doubtov ertheel ectoralpr ocess—al legati
ons‫ﺎﺕ‬ ‫ﻣ‬‫ﺍ‬‫ﺰ‬
‫ﻟ‬‫ﺍ‬which
evenpr o-Republ i
canmedi aout letssayhehasl i
ttle
evidenceof .Suchchaos‫ﺮﯼ‬ ‫ﻔ‬‫ﺗ‬‫ﺍ‬
‫ﺮ‬ ‫ﻓ‬‫ﺍ‬post -elect
ionhasnev er
befor ebeenwi t
nessedi nAmer ica, andi sli
kelyt o
i
nci te‫ﺎ‬‫ﻧ‬‫ﺎ‬
‫ﮐ‬‫ﮍ‬‫ﺑﮭ‬Tr umpsuppor ters.AsBi densuppor ters
celebr ate, t
her earesomeci tiesbr acing‫ﺎ‬ ‫ﻧ‬
‫ﺮ‬‫ﺭﯼﮐ‬‫ﺎ‬‫ﯿ‬‫ﺗ‬f or
ri
ots‫ﺍﺕ‬ ‫ﺩ‬
‫ﺎ‬‫ﻓﺴ‬ .
Nodoubt ,t
hel astfewy earshavemar kedadar kchapteri
n
Amer i
ca’shi
st ory.Butiti
sencouragingt hatMrBi denin
hisfi
rstspeechaf terthevotecountbeganpr omisedthat
“noonei sgoingt otakeourdemocr acyawayf rom us”
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