Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari signed into law Wednesday an amended cybercrimes act that the government says will curb an influx of fake news. Media rights groups warn, however, that the changes suppress freedom of expression by exposing journalists and social media users to increased restrictions and legal action.
New amendments to Pakistan’s Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, commonly known as PECA, call for a three-year prison term and a fine of more than $7,000 for spreading fake and false information.
The amendments also broaden the definition of content that authorities can block and set up four new bodies to regulate online content.
Zardari signed the bill, despite journalists calling on him to send it back to parliament for revision.
Pakistan's Senate passed the amended bill on Tuesday, a day after its Standing Committee on Interior approved the amendments, and opposition members tore up copies of the bill and walked out in protest, along with journalists covering the event.
The National Assembly, the lower house of the country’s bicameral parliament, passed the amended bill last Thursday as opposition members and journalists walked out afterward.
Holding placards calling the bill a "black law," journalists across Pakistan protested Tuesday afternoon outside press clubs. Some wore thick chains on their wrists and held chains with locks in front of their mouths.
"We wanted the government to discuss this with us," Afzal Butt, president of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists, told VOA at the protest, held steps away from the parliament building in the capital.
"We told them [to] give us time, and we will come to you [to discuss] line by line," he added.
Media rights groups are angry that the government did not bring them on board before making sweeping changes to the document.
"The government did not listen to us, so we believe that there is no good section in this bill," Butt said, who added that media rights groups plan to challenge the amendments in court.
The law
Originally enacted in 2016 as the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, the bill was meant to curb cybercrime, online harassment, and the spread of hateful content that could instigate violence.
Media and human rights groups call the law "draconian" and say successive governments have used it to muzzle dissent.
Press freedom groups have recorded more than 200 incidents of journalists and media persons investigated since PECA became law in 2017.
The latest changes to the law come just days before Pakistan marks a year since its last elections on Feb. 8, 2024, were marred by allegations of widespread fraud.
Former Prime Minister Imran Khan, one of the most popular leaders, remains in jail, and his party is deprived of its share of seats reserved for women and minorities.
His supporters, however, continue to run a formidable online campaign when most TV channels avoid saying his name.
"State and private players have been able to tame mainstream media," journalist Arifa Noor said about the decline in press freedom over the past several years. "It has pushed a considerable amount of commentary and reporting onto social media, and this is why they now want to go after social media."
SEE ALSO: Pakistan's prolonged ban on X exposes fear of dissent, critics sayPakistan ranks 152 out of 180 countries on Reporters without Borders' global Press Freedom Index, where 1 shows the best media environment. Freedom House ranks it "not free" for internet freedoms.
Amendments
The 2025 PECA bill expands the definition of unlawful content to include information that is false, harmful and damages the reputation of a person, including members of the judiciary, armed forces, parliament or a provincial assembly.
It also broadens the definition of "person" to include state institutions and corporations.
Critics worry this will muzzle dissent and open doors for the powerful military to target civilians.
The information minister for Punjab province, Azma Bokhari, rejected the concerns as "undue."
"The [military] institution also belongs to this country," she said. "If the institution has an objection over someone, should it not object [just] because it’s an institution?"
The amendments come as Pakistan’s military routinely faces criticism online for its role in civilian affairs and its alleged interference in political affairs, which it denies. Faced often with smear campaigns, the military’s top brass has repeatedly called for a crackdown on "digital terrorism."
"What we need is strong civil laws that treat defamation as a civil problem," Noor said.
The amendments also raised suspicions because they were drafted by the Ministry of Interior and not the Ministry of Information, which usually works on media-related matters.
"The fact that [the] Interior Ministry is involved in this clearly shows that this is being turned into a national security matter," said Nayyer Ali, secretary of the National Press Club that represents journalists in Islamabad and neighboring Rawalpindi.
The amended law stipulates a punishment of up to three years in prison and a fine of more than $7,000 for intentionally disseminating information that a person knows or believes is "false or fake and likely to cause or create a sense of fear, panic or disorder or unrest in general public or society."
"What is fake news? They don’t bother to define it. They want to call everything that they don’t like fake news," Noor said.
Journalists’ organizations say the impact of the amended law will not be limited to social media content makers.
"All the media is digital now," Ali said.
New powers
The bill proposes creating a Social Media Protection and Regulatory Authority, a Social Media Complaint Council, a Social Media Protection Tribunal and a National Cyber Crime Investigation Authority.
Social media platforms will have to "enlist" or register with the Social Media Protection and Regulatory Authority, which can refuse or revoke registration. Journalists worry the law could require them to register their personal social media pages, giving authorities excessive control, as rejection would mean lack of a space to freely express views, and loss of followers and revenue.
Decisions made by the tribunal can only be challenged in the Supreme Court, bypassing the traditional appeals process that includes provincial high courts.
Bokhari, the information minister, defended the amendment.
"We are giving access to the highest forum in the country," she said.
But most citizens do not have the financial means to approach the country’s top court through lawyers, Ali of the National Press Club said.
Bokhari, who has been a target of a smear campaign generated by artificial intelligence, told VOA that Pakistan needs such a law.
"Those who deal in fake news should be fearful of this law," she said. "Those who file with checks and balances should not worry."
Noor said journalists are also caught in a bind when government officials give contradictory information that causes the spread of false information.
Both the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and Amnesty International have expressed deep concerns about the negative impact the law will have on freedoms in Pakistan.