It is the logical end to an illogical act to meet. Quite aptly, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) Friday asked the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) as to what is the motive behind the latest pack of laws against individual liberties on social media, as petitioned by the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC). The PBC petition is “Removal and Blocking of Unlawful Online Content (Procedure, Oversight and Safeguards) Rules 2020”. The apex lawyers’ body refreshed the fears through this case that the new rules run contrary to the Constitution. On a point where these rules can be used to stifle voices of disagreement by the government, the IHC observed that “(when you) discourage criticism, it would discourage accountability”. Criticism and competition are pillars of democracy. The mainstream media has already been facing the worst of the working environment. Established TV channels had to be shut down, newspapers have been crippled, and quality of journalism has been compromised. It forced an outflow of voices to social media. Irony of all ironies is that social media has been the mainstay of the ruling party before coming to power. The party has effectively merged its social media team into the Ministry of Information.
It was the time when the masses were expecting facilitation for freedom of expression from the government but what they got is quite the opposite. The point is such decisions are bound to backfire as has been the case with the ban on TikTok. Within days, the government had to take it back. We are not for unbridled freedom for the media, in which case it ends up bringing all state institutions to their knees. When criticism and competition are components of democracy, controversy and conflict fall in media logic. There surely is a need to stop the flow of fake news both on mainstream and social media. Nobody can keep their eyes shut to the damage that fake news can and is doing to global society. It is resulting in making and breaking governments. This is why social media giants have been put under tight scrutiny and steps are being taken almost on a daily basis to stop it. Developed nations are focusing on media literacy for their citizens. All these efforts must be encouraged. But it is utterly mischievous to legalize suppression of dissenting voices in the garb of patriotism and other abstract notions. Pakistani society will blow up if suppressed any further as we already have had more than enough of curbs and gags.
https://dailytimes.com.pk/697678/social-media-liberties/
Social media liberties : edit in Daily Times, Dec 5, 2020
It is the logical end to an illogical act to meet. Quite aptly, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) Friday asked the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) as to what is the motive behind the latest pack of laws against individual liberties on social media, as petitioned by the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC). The PBC petition is “Removal and Blocking of Unlawful Online Content (Procedure, Oversight and Safeguards) Rules 2020”. The apex lawyers’ body refreshed the fears through this case that the new rules run contrary to the Constitution. On a point where these rules can be used to stifle voices of disagreement by the government, the IHC observed that “(when you) discourage criticism, it would discourage accountability”. Criticism and competition are pillars of democracy. The mainstream media has already been facing the worst of the working environment. Established TV channels had to be shut down, newspapers have been crippled, and quality of journalism has been compromised. It forced an outflow of voices to social media. Irony of all ironies is that social media has been the mainstay of the ruling party before coming to power. The party has effectively merged its social media team into the Ministry of Information.
It was the time when the masses were expecting facilitation for freedom of expression from the government but what they got is quite the opposite. The point is such decisions are bound to backfire as has been the case with the ban on TikTok. Within days, the government had to take it back. We are not for unbridled freedom for the media, in which case it ends up bringing all state institutions to their knees. When criticism and competition are components of democracy, controversy and conflict fall in media logic. There surely is a need to stop the flow of fake news both on mainstream and social media. Nobody can keep their eyes shut to the damage that fake news can and is doing to global society. It is resulting in making and breaking governments. This is why social media giants have been put under tight scrutiny and steps are being taken almost on a daily basis to stop it. Developed nations are focusing on media literacy for their citizens. All these efforts must be encouraged. But it is utterly mischievous to legalize suppression of dissenting voices in the garb of patriotism and other abstract notions. Pakistani society will blow up if suppressed any further as we already have had more than enough of curbs and gags.
https://dailytimes.com.pk/697678/social-media-liberties/
Published in Pak Media comment and Pakistan