In search of tolerance

This refers to the news report ‘Govt issues rules for removal, blocking of unlawful online content’ (October 15). The only justification of any restrictions on social media should be based on a threat to public health and human rights. If it was a war against false information, perhaps, it would have been a decent cause. Unfortunately, the opposite seems to be the case with the proposed rules for blocking ‘unlawful’ online content. These rules are based on vague and subjective terms like morality, decency, glory, integrity and so on, which are open to interpretation. This leaves a lot of room for abuse of this law. Freedom of thought and expression are sacred rights that are also essential for the development of any society and are a cornerstone for promoting tolerance and peace. The more spaces we restrict by trying to implement a uniform idea of what is acceptable in the public domain, the more space we are giving to extremism.

Mariam Khan

Lahore