Revisions have been proposed for the functioning of Digital Rights Protection Authority (DRPA), which was constituted by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif last month, to enhance the complaint registration process for social media content, according to a report by Dawn.com.
On May 20, PM Shehbaz established the DRPA led by Rana Sanaullah, who is adviser to the premier. The committee, which would potentially replace all existing social media regulatory bodies, piled up concerns from rights advocates and political parties after its initial draft was sent to the federal cabinet. According to Dawn’s sources, the proposed changes to the DRPA concern the process of registering complaints against social media content.
“It has been added that only the aggrieved person can lodge a complaint and there has to be mechanism to determine if the complainant was the aggrieved person or not,” the sources informed Dawn. “Secondly it is important to predetermine if the complaint, too, is a genuine violation of the rights of the complainant or not.”
According to the report, some committee members told Dawn that the draft was sent back to the Ministry of IT and Telecommunication (MoITT) for revisions of clauses that were too stringent. Although the ministry has made the changes and returned the draft to the committee, it has yet to be reviewed owing to other political affairs and preparations for the upcoming federal budget.
The proposed DRPA aims to replace the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016 — commonly known as PECA — which is the major cyber regulatory framework in the country. However, the DRPA’s constitution came through amendments to PECA, according to initial details.
The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA), which was launched in May and replaced the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA)’s Cybercrime Wing, will also operate under the DRPA. The NCCIA will assume control over all existing “personnel, cases, inquiries, investigations, assets, liabilities, rights, obligations, privileges” and related matters from the now “defunct” Cybercrime Wing of the FIA, according to the notification issued by the MoITT at the time.
However, the officials currently serving in the FIA’s Cybercrime Wing will continue their roles for one year until new staff are appointed at the NCCIA, the notification added.
