Pakistan's tough stance on 'fake news' threatens basic freedoms

WALEED TARIQ

Draconian measure meant to tackle rampant disinformation on social media.

Pakistan moved over the weekend to tighten up a controversial cybercrime law in order ostensibly to tackle fake news on social media, but media organizations and rights activists said it could target opposition critics and stifle freedom of speech.

The Pakistan Electronic Crimes Act 2016 (PECA) was amended using a presidential ordinance. The law already criminalized certain kinds of speech including "offenses against the dignity of a natural person." With the amendment, someone accused of defaming a person or institution -- such as the army or the judiciary -- could be denied bail and be jailed for up to five years instead of three. The accused must be tried within six months, and the offense has also been made cognizable, enabling police to make an arrest without a warrant.

Addressing a press conference in Karachi on Sunday, Law Minister Farogh Naseem said the amendment is meant to deal with "fake news." Naseem said the amendment was made following consultations with Prime Minister Imran Khan, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry and Attorney General Khalid Jawed Khan.

"It is your constitutional right to criticize but please do not indulge in spreading fake news," said Naseem. He said fake news is spread by those who have a personal agenda or are funded by external agents in foreign countries. The minister brushed off criticism that the ordinance is a mechanism to bypass parliament. "An ordinance is not unconstitutional or undemocratic," he said. "By approving an ordinance one also gets to know the pitfalls in the law, which can be corrected through amendments when it is laid in the parliament."

Disinformation is rampant on Pakistani social media where hordes of trolls -- some of whom are alleged to have ruling party support -- run smear campaigns against opponents, critical journalists -- especially female ones -- and minorities. Rizwan Saeed, a doctoral researcher at Ohio University who recently contributed the chapter on Pakistan in the Routledge Handbook of Autocratization in South Asia, told Nikkei Asia that allowing any individual to file a report of defamation of an institution and then becoming a party in the case is "problematic."

"How can an individual assess what damage has been done to the targeted institution?" Saeed asked. He said that adding denial of bail and arrest without a warrant are "coercive measures to threaten citizens, and one more step towards digital autocratization."

Saeed said the absence of an exact definition of fake news will also leave citizens vulnerable to the interpretations and mercies of law enforcement personnel.

"The state can use this lack of clarity to silence dissenting voices and suppress individuals' digital liberties," he said. He cited the recent example of a provincial minister in Punjab asking the Federal Investigation Agency to take action against those who spread "fake news" about Lahore's deplorable air quality, which has risen to hazardous levels.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan called the legislation "undemocratic," and expressed concern that it will be used to clamp down on critics of the government and state institutions. The independent non-profit organization said in statement that the government should be accountable to citizens, and called for the ordinance to be "rolled back immediately."

Journalists and media related organizations have severely criticized the ordinance. "Imran Khan wants to enforce the Chinese model in Pakistan," Hamid Mir, a senior journalist, told Nikkei. He said the law infringes on the spirit of the constitution and many past court verdicts, and needs to be quashed.

Khan, who came to power in 2018, has been included on Reporters Without Borders' 2021 list of "press freedom predators."

A joint action committee that includes the All Pakistan Newspapers Society and the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors issued a similar statement and rejected the "draconian amendments." The committee pledged to take "any and all" legal action to challenge state efforts to curb media independence. On Monday, it walked out of a meeting with the information ministry, and announced that all discussions were being suspended until the amendments are reversed.

Last year, the government moved to form the Pakistan Media Development Authority -- a centralized body to oversee print, electronic and digital media. The idea was firmly rejected by all stakeholders.

Freedom Network, a Pakistani media and development sector watchdog, said the decree is meant to inhibit public scrutiny of elected representatives and state institutions. In a statement, it called on the government to withdraw the amendment and "let citizens express themselves without fears of being penalized." In its annual 2021 report, the organization said at least two dozen journalists have been issued PECA notices in the last three years, and half of them were formally charged. Members of the opposition also voiced concern. They included Shehbaz Sharif, president of the conservative Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), which passed the law six years ago. He tweeted that the ordinance "shows the real fascist face of the ruling clique." Yousuf Raza Gilani, leader of opposition in the upper house of parliament, said they will challenge the amendments in court. In recent weeks the government has come under increasing criticism over rising commodity and fuel prices, natural gas shortages and deteriorating law and order.

Activists had already warned of a further clampdown after last week's arrest of Mohsin Baig, a critical former media adviser to the prime minister, under cybercrime laws on the request of a federal minister. Baig was accused of defaming Murad Saeed -- a politician belonging to the Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party -- on a TV talk show. He has also been charged under anti-terrorism laws for resisting arrest by plainclothes officers.

Saeed said rooting out misinformation is only possible with "concerted and collective efforts" of social media companies, governments, news agencies and media outlets.

https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Pakistan-s-tough-stance-on-fake-news-threatens-basic-freedoms