ISLAMABAD Shaza Fatima Khawaja, the nation’s state minister for IT and telecom, announced on Thursday that the government intends to change the country’s cybercrime legislation to “address concerns regarding misinformation.”
The minister stated that changes to the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016 (Peca) were being examined at a briefing to the Senate Standing Committee on IT and Telecommunication on Thursday.
According to a Dawn report earlier this week, the government is preparing “wholesale” revisions to the cybercrime law that would create a new authority with the ability to prohibit social media access and online material and to prosecute individuals spreading “fake news.”
Ms. Khawaja was asked about the government’s or the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority’s (PTA) legal authority to block VPNs at the Senate committee meeting.
The PTA chairman disputes that slowing down the internet is “official policy.”
Although the committee had previously requested the law division’s position on the subject, no such opinion was offered during the meeting.
Senator Afnanullah, a member of the ruling PML-N, emphasized that no legislation gives the government the authority to block or limit any internet platform or social media tool.
Peca is being changed to “address concerns related to fake news and online misinformation campaigns,” the minister stated in response to a question.
One of the changes, according to Dawn’s report, was to broaden the definition of “social media platform” to include “website,” “application,” or “communication channel” that enable users to access social media and publish information within its scope.
Given that VPNs are used to access social media services like X, which are restricted in Pakistan, the government may be able to regulate or ban their use under this enlarged definition.
Prior to legal advisors pointing out that these were methods to access material rather than the content itself, the government had intended to register VPNs and block unregistered proxies. As a result, there was no legal basis for the authorities to stop them.
Ms. Fatima asserted, however, that the modifications “were not intended to restrict” free speech or the internet.
Outages on the Internet
The minister gave detailed answers to questions from MPs about frequent internet outages.
She stated, “The government does not intend to take such extreme measures, but the subject of internet shutdowns has been blown too much.”
Ms. Khawaja asserted that there were no plans to interfere with Pakistan’s internet “unless it became absolutely necessary for national security” and that it was “functioning normally.”
Senator Palwsha Khan, the head of the committee, voiced worries about the ongoing interruptions.
Retired Maj Gen Hafeezur Rehman, the PTA Chairman, stated at his briefing that there was no government policy to purposefully slow down the internet.
Both the committee members and the IT specialists in attendance greeted his comments with frowns and smiles.
He asserted that problems with the proposed VPN licensing could cause interruptions to internet services.
Mr. Rehman went on to say that the PTA intends to implement a VPN licensing procedure on January 1st, which will solve the general worries of the IT sector starting next month.
Committee members expressed skepticism, claiming that even after the registration process, consumers would still experience internet and social media shutdowns, despite the PTA chief’s claims that the new procedure would simplify VPN maintenance.
Key players from the telecom and IT industries attended the meeting, including Sajjad Mustafa Syed, chairman of the Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA). Given how much the IT sector depends on dependable and quick internet connections, he voiced concerns about the growing effects of internet slowdowns.
According to the P@SHA chief, “the internet is the lifeblood of the IT sector and any disruption is a serious matter.”
He informed the committee that stringent data security and defense against cyberattacks were necessary in addition to a free-market economic environment.
Mr. Syed claimed earlier this week that the IT industry lost over a million dollars for every hour of internet outage or disruption.
He claimed that frequent internet slowdowns and unforeseen outages were affecting IT service exports, and that P@SHA had notified the PTA and IT ministry about this.
