Guardians or gatekeepers?

Such is the scepticism regarding any Pakistani government’s initiative on social media ‘regulation’ that the launch of a cybercrime investigation authority has – justifiably – created doubts among people, including digital and human rights activists. After days of speculation, the federal government formally announced on Friday (May 3) that it had established the National Cyber Crimes Investigation Agency (NCCIA) and the existing Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) cybercrime wing would now be defunct. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar says that the step should be seen as a protection of people’s digital rights. However, digital rights activists point out that such arbitrary measures taken by the government end up hurting the very people they are meant to protect. The NCCIA has been formed under Section 51 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016 (Peca) – another draconian law that has been used against people, including journalists – and is apparently going to handle cases like women’s online harassment/child pornography and deal with propaganda on social media. The information minister also says that the government would like recommendations from software houses, intelligentsia, academics, lawyers etc regarding social media regulation. It is rather surprising that four months after the caretaker government approved the NCCI to take over cybercrime investigations from the FIA, the government has still not consulted the relevant stakeholders.

Digital rights activists have also raised alarm bells over the fate of pending cases with the FIA. Since several cybercrime cases are sensitive in nature, their transfer from one organization to another poses risk and could bring even more stress for the people involved. It is true that digital advancements have led to a set of unique challenges, and governments have to keep evolving to keep the digital space secure. That the internet is a risky space for most people is true. In 2023, Pakistan had 71.70 million social media users – or 30.1 per cent of its total population. In a country where digital literacy is quite low but the number of active internet users is high, chances of cybercrimes are high. In that regard, it is understandable why the government may have thought about setting up a new body to deal with all things digital.

But people’s scepticism about the new initiative is mostly triggered by the government’s past unsatisfactory performances on the digital front. In 2023, a Bytes For All report said that Pakistan “remained among the world’s worst performers in terms of internet access and digital governance.” Also, in November 2023, a few months before the 2024 general elections, a report by the Institute for Research, Advocacy and Development (Irada) revealed how major mainstream political parties, including the ruling party PML-N, were “woefully ill-prepared to interact with citizens who are more digital savvy and digitally immersed.” It then makes sense why internet users and rights activists will be wary of the government’s latest attempt at expanding its scope on the digital landscape, which, by its very nature, has to be free. The government’s fear that the internet is exploited by terrorist and extremist organizations to recruit more people is understandable. But most social media platforms have content moderation teams that take notice of such offences and remove such posts that may incite violence. The government’s job is to find them, release PSA posts, and flag them. Digital experts have tried to explain to the government the correct way of handling the digital front. Now that the new body is launched, it needs to be ensured that it works to curb cybercrimes and does not become yet another tool against dissent.