Daily Times

In the modern world, it is incredibly unusual and negligent for a country to have no cybercrime legislation whatsoever. Such legislation has to be drafted by legal and IT experts to target actual cybercrimes and not the average internet user. Cybercriminals usually operate in a complex network of hackers, software, IT, coding and encryption. Most worrisome cybercrimes like extortion, theft, hacking and cyberterrorism are beyond the capacities of ordinary individuals that use the internet. The Prevention of Electronic Crimes Bill of 2015, approved by the National Assembly Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecommunication, contains vague stipulations that target the general public rather than cyber criminals. Obscene or immoral messages on social media, blogs and comments are banned in section 20 of the bill, yet the definitions of obscene and immoral are not given, opening up the law to misuse and the unjustified punishment of users. The entire bill reeks of censorship and the suppression of the right to freedom of expression. Posting anything about a “natural person” without their consent is a crime according to the bill, punishable by a fine of Rs one million. This loosely worded bill runs the risk of being abused to incriminate ordinary civilians, without any room for appeal. Section 24 states that no “warrant” is required for an “investigating officer” to “search, seize, arrest” any individual or their computer and browser history. Cybercriminals too deserve a fair trial and need to be proved guilty in order to be punished. Yet this bill does not contain specific provisions to investigate criminals that use the internet for their illegal activities.
The bill also gives the Pakistan Telecom Authority (PTA) the power to block any website they deem objectionable, as they have with YouTube and several other sites, restricting the public’s access to information. Perhaps the reason this bill is so sweeping and ambiguous is because neither the PTA nor any other government institution possesses the expertise to investigate cybercrimes. It seems this cybercrimes bill is half-baked, lacking the means to investigate cybercriminals. The increasing levels of connectivity that the internet has provided the world have caused distances between countries to shrink. Banning websites and restricting the use of the internet will only lead to Pakistan becoming even more isolated than it already is due to terrorist threats and technological underdevelopment. Preventing citizens from expressing themselves and voicing opinions that do not match those of the government does not protect them from cybercrimes but instead makes them vulnerable to unjust criminal charges. *