Government pledges to curb hate speech on social media

We will monitor social media and work to eliminate fake accounts. People who violate Pakistan’s cyber laws will be prosecuted. We want to encourage discourse and debate in the Pakistani society but that is not possible if people threaten each other over differences of opinion.

Fawad Chaudhry, Information Minister

islamabad — The Pakistan government will crack down on “hate speech” on social media from next week and set up a new authority, which will enforce regulations for the digital, print and electronic media, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said on Wednesday.

“We have created a mechanism through which we will control hate speech on social media. The problem is the digital media is taking over formal media and it is important to regulate it,” Chaudhry said.

He said a working group, with representatives of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and other security agencies, had been set up to regulate social media platforms.

The government was planning a new body, Pakistan Media Regulatory Authority, which would enforce regulations for the digital, print and electronic media.

“We will monitor social media and work to eliminate fake accounts. People who violate Pakistan’s cyber laws will be prosecuted. We want to encourage discourse and debate in the Pakistani society but that is not possible if people threaten each other over differences of opinion,” he said.

The minister said that several arrests have been made this week based on misuse of social media to issue fatwas (decrees) and spread extremist narrative.

“In the next and coming weeks, you will ensure a strict crackdown on this. People will not be allowed to vent their extremist narrative on social media.” “The state wants a dialogue but that cannot happen if other does not let you do that,” he said. “If you are told that ‘my opinion is final and if you disagree I will shoot you or you should be hanged for saying this’ then you are using the state’s powers, ” he said, adding “only the state has the power to use force or violence. Any individual cannot be allowed to the same.”

The announcement comes days after authorities arrested a journalist for allegedly posting defamatory content on social media.

And on Tuesday an opinion piece in the International New York Times criticising Pakistan’s powerful army was censored by its local publisher and replaced by a blank space.

Activists report receiving warnings from Facebook and Twitter for posting unlawful content. Local media also complained about pressure in the run-up to a general election in July to self-censor in favour of the cricketer-turned-prime-minister Imran Khan. —