Of course we all know that the internet and the age of instant news has much to commend it. But the US FBI, Interpol, and the US Department of Justice have also revealed the extent to which it promotes and expands the space available for child pornography and other kinds of exploitation. Hundreds of arrests have been made in Europe of people involved in internet child-porn rings. We ourselves know from the Kasur scandal of 2015 how lucrative child pornography can be and to what means persons in power will go to cover up their involvement. The fact it is that it now easier than ever to disseminate child pornography because of the internet but a lax law-enforcement culture and societal obstacles have not led to stronger efforts to curb this menace. While Pakistan has put on paper a set of laws against cybercrime, the fact that they are not implemented means they are essentially pointless. Canadian authorities noted a rise from just over 4,000 in 2015 to over 6,000 cases of child pornography over the internet from 2015 to 2016. Arrests were made. It is these arrests which deter others from following similar means to gain financially. Pakistan has also figured as a country from where porn sites are accessed more often than any other. This in itself says a great deal about the hypocrisy which underlies our pretense of morality.
Aside from pornography, one of the problems noted with crime in cyberspace is that of blasphemy. Unlike with cases of child pornography, here the authorities have made a public effort to warn people and even draw up lists of those alleged to be posting blasphemous material online. But there is a dark side to this as social media activists and those whose criticism on state policy is seen as a problem have been mysteriously picked up and then subjected to vicious campaigns in the electronic and social media where they are accused of blasphemy. Subsequent investigations have shown that they are not in fact guilty of blasphemy but by then their reputations have been tarred, and their lives gravely threatened.
Lives have also been put at risk by online campaigns against many individuals, some of whom are labelled anti-state and subjected to vile propaganda campaigns on social media websites. Images are twisted and inflammatory statements are falsely attributed to them. No one has been spared from such campaigns, be it the chief justice or the former prime minister. Apart from the social media cells of political parties, there are many mysterious sources of these propaganda efforts, and any attempt to litigate them in a court of law end up being dragged out indefinitely. At the same time there is also a perception that there are those who use fake news and lies to attack others on religious or political grounds but are able to have their cases speedily heard. However, the victims of these campaigns, whose lives are now endangered, rarely get an opportunity to be heard. And on top of it all, the FIA has reportedly neither the money nor the power nor the technology to go after such cases.
There is also a belief that some character assassination campaigns have been carried out from abroad. But the authorities say that they are unable to take any action against them because their jurisdiction does not extend to foreign countries. What would perhaps help matters is Pakistan signing agreements with leading social media and search engine websites that would allow us to request identifying information of users who have violated our laws. To strengthen such agreements, we would also need to sign mutual legal assistance treaties with other countries so that action can be taken against such groups or individuals. Negotiating such agreements is important but there is also an equal responsibility on law-enforcement officials to use any agreements that are reached not to harass the vulnerable but to go after those who endanger other people and ruin lives, whether by disseminating child pornography or carrying out organised campaigns of character assassination.