The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) Amendment Bill, 2023, approved by the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting on Friday, has become a contentious source of disagreement among the federal government, opposition party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), journalists and rights defenders.
The bill, which was presented in the National Assembly on Thursday last week, was unanimously approved the following day, with the committee terming it a “historic initiative for the welfare of journalists”. The bill would empower a three-member committee to shut down a channel instead of the PEMRA chairperson, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said Friday.
At a press event on Saturday, the minister said the bill had been prepared to protect the rights of media workers and lay the foundation for a responsible media, according to Radio Pakistan. The minister added the bill was drafted after “detailed consultations of eleven months” with the stakeholders concerned — including media workers and owners of media organisations — in the light of “the best international practices”.
Aurangzeb remarked the preparation of the bill was necessitated by diversification in the Pakistani media, which comprises 40 channels covering news, current affairs, agriculture, entertainment, health, education, and more.
The minister also remarked that the bill, for the first time, gives representation to media stakeholders —the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) and Pakistan Broadcasters Association (PBA) — in PEMRA and includes terms like “certified news, patience and tolerance, economic and energy development and children-related content”. The clause relating to “timely payment” refers to payments made to electronic media employees within two months.
“The primary objective of the Bill is to improve the welfare of journalists, and enable a free, responsible and ethical media environment in Pakistan, as practice in democratic countries around the world,” the minister tweeted Saturday prior to her presser. “The Bill addresses various important long-standing issues and matters including arbitrary, unchecked concentrated powers of Chairman PEMRA, lack of representation of PFUJ and PBA in PEMRA Authority and the Council of Complaints, delayed payments of journalists’ salaries, and the definitions of misinformation and disinformation.”
I am pleased that the NA Standing Committee for Information & Broadcasting passed the PEMRA (Amendment) Bill 2023 today, which I had laid in the National Assembly yesterday. The Bill was approved by the Committee after a comprehensive discussion between the Committee members and…
— Marriyum Aurangzeb (@Marriyum_A) July 21, 2023
However, what the caught the attention of critics, journalists, and rights defenders was the reframing of the terms “misinformation” and “disinformation” in the bill. According to the minister, the bill incorporates a “complete mechanism” to differentiate between misinformation and disinformation. The clear distinction between information disorders was established following thorough examination of laws concerning the same in the European Union (EU), United Kingdom, Malaysia, India, and other regions.
The bill includes specific definitions to disinformation and misinformation to provide legal remedies to challenge false, misleading, manipulated, created or fabricated misinformation.
The bill states that “disinformation means verifiably false, misleading, manipulated, created or fabricated information which is disseminated or shared with the intention to cause harm to the reputation of or to harass any person for political, personal, or financial interest or gains without making an effort to get other person’s point of view or not giving it proper coverage and space, but does not include misinformation”.
The response to the bill has been largely concerning. The PTI strongly rejected the bill, saying imposing censorship to control the media and free speech was unacceptable. It called the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) the “worst exploitative and “anti-constitutional” government.
Several prominent journalists raised concerns about several aspects of the bill. Asma Shirazi, for instance, questioned who will decide the intention behind spreading false information as laid out in the bill.
The said PEMRA amendment bill has some questionable clauses like this one👇🏾how n who will decide the “intentions”? and without the response of the concerned person, does this mean a reporter or journalist cannot file the story quoting sources or one’s story comes in the ambit of… pic.twitter.com/h9crkO4DHh
— Asma Shirazi (@asmashirazi) July 22, 2023
“The said PEMRA amendment bill has some questionable clauses like this one how [and] who will decide the ‘intentions’?” she tweeted, sharing a screengrab of the clause mentioned. “And without the response of the concerned person, does this mean a reporter or journalist cannot file the story quoting sources or one’s story comes in the ambit of disinformation?
Senior journalist Hamid Mir remarked the government has brought the bill to “impose a martial law on the media”. He also called it a violation of the order of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and an attempt to cover up poll rigging in the upcoming elections.
پیمرا ترمیمی بل کے ذریعہ میڈیا پر مارشل لاء نافذ کرنے کی کوشش کی گئی ہے یہ بل سپریم کورٹ کے ایک فیصلے کی خلاف ورزی اور الیکشن سے قبل الیکشن میں دھاندلی کے خلاف آواز کو دبانے کی کوشش ہے اس بل کے خلاف مزاحمت کے سوا ہمارے پاس کوئی دوسرا راستہ نہیں https://t.co/2pHIsgG5IA
— Hamid Mir حامد میر (@HamidMirPAK) July 22, 2023
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) expressed concern that the proposed amended bill may allow PEMRA the powers to exercise more censorship under the guise of upholding what the regulator terms “authentic” news.
“While any responsible journalist is honour-bound to eschew false information intended to deliberately create harm, we are concerned that the given definition of ‘disinformation in this bill strays into censorship territory and may allow powerful groups or individuals to stonewall journalists seeking both sides of a story,” stated the HRCP.
HRCP is concerned that the proposed PEMRA Amendment Act 2022 has assigned the regulator the role of disseminating what it terms 'authentic' news in a bid to curb disinformation. pic.twitter.com/Abyhs2hKFA
— Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (@HRCP87) July 21, 2023
The bill also allows media professionals to lodge complaints with the Council of Complaints with PEMRA if they have not received their salaries for two months, Aurangzeb said.
“PEMRA will have the powers to forward recommendations in this regard to the federal and provincial government and eventually the government advertisements to such electronic media houses would be stopped unless they clear the dues of their employees.”
