ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry while talking about social media regulation said social media websites must come under national tax net as Pakistan has paid hefty amount to foreign companies. Talking to a private news channel he stated that it was not a strange act as rest of the world had […]
THE rapidness with which journalists, rights activists, lawyers and mainstream political parties have come together to defend the right to freedom of expression is obviously due to the seriousness of the establishment’s efforts to control not only the flow of information but the citizens’ thought process as well. The challenges to the media have once […]
KARACHI: United States chief diplomat for South Asian affairs Alice Wells has termed the new restrictions on social media platforms in Pakistan a “setback” for freedom of expression and development of digital economy. In a memo dated Jan 28, the federal cabinet approved the Citizens Protection (Against Online Harm) Rules, 2020, that outline extensive guidelines […]
ISLAMABAD – The Federal Investigation Agency’s cyber crime wing is looking into a complaint filed by a member of the ruling PTI against hosts of a satirical show of a private TV channel for “insulting” Prime Minister Imran Khan. “We are looking into the matter and will decide on it in the light of the relevant […]
NAUSHAHRO FEROZE: Journalists from different parts of Sindh on Tuesday held a protest demonstration and sit-in outside the Naushahro Feroze SSP’s office over failure of police to arrest “killers” of their professional colleague, Aziz Memon, whose body was found floating in a canal in Mehrabpur on Feb 16. The protesters came from Nawabshah, Sanghar, Dadu […]
LAHORE: The civil society, including the representatives of journalists, lawyers and workers unions, has rejected and condemned the new social media rules, demanding the government repeal them immediately and issue a plan of consultation with the people who are the real stakeholders. They said no such measure should be imposed upon the public without consultation. […]
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday issued notices to the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication (MoITT) and other respondents and sought their reply on plea questioning the legitimacy of new social media regulations Citizens Protection (Against Online Harm) Rules, 2020. Chief Justice Islamabad High Court Justice Athar Minallah issued notices to the federation, information technology and law ministries over the petition. Petitioner’s counsel Barrister Jahangir Jadoon maintained that the Citizens Protection (Against Online Harm) Rules 2020 meant to curb the freedom of expression and contravenes the constitution. The court, however, rejected the petitioner’s request to immediately suspend the applicability of the Citizens Protection (Against Online Harm) Rules, 2020. During hearing the petitioner’s lawyer argued that the government aimed to curtail the freedom of expression by “controlling the social media”. Justice Athar Minallah remarked that the Regulations are done all over the world. To this petitioner’s lawyer argued that in this case the government was trying to control social media through regulations. He requested the court to send notice to the government and ask on the status of the rules. He said that under the draft rules, the government is planning to appoint a national coordinator to implement the Social Media Rules 2020. The lawyer alleged that under the law, the coordinator has […]
