The Senate of Pakistan has passed the law against cybercrime with several amendments after successful negotiations between the government and the opposition. The opposition had severely criticised the bill when it was earlier tabled in the National Assembly. Internet rights groups had termed the law draconian, and asked the government to define several vague terms that could be misused by the authorities to curb freedom of expression. The Senate Standing Committee on Information Technology had proposed 47 amendments to the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Bill 2016, while the upper house introduced another eight during Friday’s proceedings. The bill will now be sent to the National Assembly, which is most likely to pass it with amendments introduced in the Senate with consensus. Implementation of the bill will see a punishment of up to 14-year incarceration, and Rs 50 million fine on electronic crimes. The legislation establishes new offences, including illegal access of data, interference with data and information systems, specialised cyber-related electronic forgery and electronic fraud, cyber-terrorism, unauthorised interception conducted by civilians, use of malicious code viruses, identity theft, etc. Therefore, the cyber law has the capacity to control cyberspace in Pakistan that did not have any formal laws earlier. Some of the amendments were of technical nature meant to address flaws in the Senate committee’s bill. The most important one perhaps is envisaging the parliamentary and judicial oversight of the law to check its possible misuse. A parliamentary oversight committee will be constituted, and twice a year, a report on the state of the implementation of law will be presented to parliament. The amendment has been made to the clause that states that the federal government may establish or designate a law enforcement agency as an investigation agency for the purpose of an inquiry into cyber offences. Several other amendments seek to define some of the vague terms, specifying charges for certain crimes, and increasing or reducing punishments in particular crimes. Furthermore, the IT companies registered with the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority will be dealt with under the PTA act. Under the cyber law, imprisonment of up to seven years can be awarded for funding a terrorist organisation through the internet. Moreover, a person can be tried under the law even if the offence is committed from outside Pakistan. However, the investigation into electronic crimes cannot be carried out without the court’s permission. The Internet rights groups, nonetheless, hold some reservations on the possible misuse of the law. Questions have been raised on the authority defining the threshold for the freedom of expression for the people. Although a restriction on incitement of violence and defamation is appreciable, yet who will set the line? A person might consider a statement derogatory, but the other person might not feel the same. In a country where there are sympathisers of questionable organisations and sectarian outfits, the implementation of this law in its true sense will be a herculean task. Democracy does not allow the basic right of freedom of speech to be curbed in any way. A minority opinion matters holds weight just as a majority opinion does. A few years ago when the Protection of Pakistan Act was passed, similar concerns were raised by human rights groups as the law had the capacity to curb the fundamental human rights. The cybercrime law comes into the same category and needs to be implemented by experts to curb its misuse. Who decides what is right and what is wrong in a country of almost 200 million people is a question that may have muliple answers, and which answer is most relevant to the majority of people is a subject for a more complex debate. A uniform law for a mutiltude of opinions may appear viable in theory, but the reality is a different ball game altogether. The domain of cyberpace is immense, and so are its possibilites of good and bad. But then again, who decides what is good and and what is bad? *