Pakistan: Journalists slam new law regulating social media

By Deutsche Welle (Asia) | Created at 2025-01-24 17:10:15 | Updated at 2025-01-24 22:55:30 6 hours ago

Journalists and rights groups in Pakistan on Friday said a new law tightening social media controls in the country would curb press freedom.

The lower house of parliament passed amendments to the Pakistan Electronic Crimes Act on Thursday.

Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said the law was introduced to combat fake and false news on social media, which he said lacked specific regulatory measures.

What's in the new social media law?

The new regulation grants government agencies the authority to imprison individuals for up to three years for spreading disinformation on social media.

It also authorizes the government to impose fines of up to 2 million rupees ($7,168) for such offenses.

Social media platforms would be required to register with the new Social Media Protection and Regulatory Authority.

Those who refuse to register or comply with orders to remove content could face bans.

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Pakistan journalists' union says it wasn't consulted

The president of Pakistan's Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), the nation's biggest union for journalists, Afzal Butt, said that journalistic bodies were not consulted before the law was introduced.

"We reject this unilateral decision by the government to set up any such tribunals," Butt told the Reuters news agency.

"We also are in favor of regulations, but, you know, a law enforcement agency or a police officer can't decide what is false or fake news," Butt said.

The PFUJ president said he believed the new regulation was designed to suppress freedom of speech and intimidate journalists and their media outlets and called for nationwide demonstrations next week to protest the regulation.

The union said it would organize a sit-in protest outside the parliament if the law is not withdrawn.