Pakistan’s federal cabinet, which comprises senior government officials chosen and led by the Prime Minister, recently approved two cyber laws in Pakistan, E-Safety Bill, 2023, and Personal Data Protection Bill, 2023, which have raised concerns among civil society and digital rights activists in the country.
According to an official statement published by Dawn.com, the data protection bill seeks to “protect user data and prevent the illegal use of information systems” while the E-Safety bill aims to prevent “online harassment, cyber bullying, and blackmailing.” The thought behind the bill seems to be geared towards the good of the people, so what’s the problem then?
“The driving mindset [behind the passing of the bills] is not to facilitate the users, but how state can be facilitated to use and access data,” said Farieha Aziz, a digital rights activist and founder of Bolo Bhi, during an online session titled ‘A Comprehensive Critical Analysis of the E-Safety Bill 2023 and Personal Data Protection Bill 2023’, held on Monday, 31 July, 2023. The E-Safety bill needs to be renamed to the E-Censorship bill, she added.
The session hosted by Media Matters for Democracy included Haroon Rashid, Independent Urdu Editor, Asad Baig, MMfD Executive Director, Sadaf Khan, digital rights expert and WHRD, and Ayesha Khalid, former anchorperson and MMfD Communications Manager. It was moderated by Project Coordinator Usman Shahid.
She expressed concern over the fact that no draft of the E-Safety Bill 2023 has been shared with any activist or journalist. We do recognise corporate responsibility and are concerned about user protection but those in power want a switch which they can turn on and off with regards to the Internet.
The Government under the data protection law is seeking data localisation. They expect international companies to come to Pakistan and then demand data from them. Social media giants have already categorically said that they don’t want to open offices in Pakistan and yet these tactics (of the Government) are aimed at control and access. Asking someone to be physically present only means that you want to force them to become compliant. “Pakistanis are reliant on cloud services and data services require millions and millions of investment. Who will bring in this money?” Aside from this, there are several issues in the country including power outages and frequent short circuiting in offices.
Those in power want to establish a commission but there is a need to realise that regulators in Pakistan are not independent. Should sensitive data be provided to the government? Apple refused to provide data access following the San Bernardino attacks. “We have to understand and it is about the culture and environment we operate in.”
She remarked that there is a need to shelve these laws. “It is better to have no laws rather than implementing bad laws.” This is just the punitive control mindset of those in power, they don’t understand why people won’t listen to them. They need to realise that laws don’t stop the crime and they end up making flawed frameworks because they don’t understand the medium.
The Government needs to improve the existing framework rather than bringing more laws, remarked Rashid. Currently, there is FIA, PTA, PEMRA, MoITT, and agencies who are all involved in monitoring journalists and human rights defenders. “They are already monitoring and want to make yet another authority. It seems quite redundant.”We should strengthen one organisation, and the media should be encouraged and supported.
New look, old tactics
The panellists even compared the new bills to the tactics used by the Government, which incidentally is the same, when PECA was introduced and passed.
It is giving me déjà vu, remarked Sadaf Khan. “Our concerns have been the same, and their [the government’s] approach has been the same. Nothing has changed a lot.” The elections are coming and it seems a repetition of what has been happening in the country with regards to censorship laws.
This is a common practice during elections as too many instruments are brought in. There is no transparency. We receive all information through sources and reports as we don’t have access to the drafts. There are only semantic and linguistic changes but the tactics remain the same, she added.
We have seen what has happened with PECA, Aziz remarked. There is victim blaming, harassment of victims and not to forget, the frequent audio and video leaks in the country are quite alarming. “We know how any information will be used and against whom.”
Baig remarked that such draconian laws are not new. “In such a short period of time, we have seen different media-related laws such as PEMRA amendment, e-safety, data protection, and PECA amendment.” There seems to be an urgency behind this. When the former government of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf was in power they introduced six laws on media regulation.”
Lack of transparency
The Government’s lack of transparency in holding open consultations on cyber laws was also questioned during the session.
Where are these consultations held and why do activists not know about them, Baig asked. When the PEMRA amendment was proposed many people said that they were not a part of the consultative process. “Where are they even held?”
The same question was raised by Rashid too. He remarked that as a member of the media fraternity, he remained completely unaware that there was a consultation. If there was one, then it certainly wasn’t with all stakeholders, he added.
The consultative process doesn’t seem to be authentic, Khan remarked. The idea is not to hold consultation with four people, but stakeholders so you can tell them how you will address their concerns.
Lack of clarity
Baig even pointed out that there is no clarity in the bill with regards to how the proposed legislation will be implemented. “Do they expect all social media giants to open data centres in Pakistan and keep their data here?” It shows that they have no understanding of how the industry works. “This is dangerous and impractical, and most likely to bring us to an impasse.”
Aziz remarked that there are no clear definitions. “How do you define critical personal data?” Nothing has been defined in these laws, she added.
Khalid, on the other hand, remarked that the law has no special provisions for the protection of women journalists who are harassed in online spaces.
It is, however, important to note that the approval of the cabinet means that the bill is expected to be introduced in Parliament and after its approval can it become a law.
