Daily Times

Punjab government’s decision to initiate crackdown against bogus and misleading social media posts under the recently-approved Cyber Crime Law is surely a little belated but still welcome.

Doctored and photo-shopped images galore on social media sites such as Facebook today, with nobody to check the authenticity of these pictures, have the potential of ruining family lives of many, and put others in extremely embarrassing situations.

I have myself been a hovering social media bee for some time, but not anymore. Generally, social media has wreaked havoc on Pakistan’s social fiber, human relationships, development of tender minds and family lives. People are spending too much time on their computers and cell phones, getting dangerous exposure to senseless ideas, especially about politics and religion.

Instead of having served as a panacea to address issues like religious extremism, sectarianism and political polarisation, social networking sites are instead aggravating the menaces.

People are missing out on important life moments in their quest to capture and memorialise them for social media, which is littered with idiotic comments. While social media is also discouraging people from getting physical exercise, it is unassumingly making it too easy for children to be exposed to garbage content, besides taking a toll on their health.

Women who post on social media do not realise the perils of Internet either. They do not realise that it is making it easier for stalkers to haunt them. So many cases of blackmailing have already surfaced on electronic media where naive females were targeted by stalkers and blackmailers, bringing their family values to disrepute.

It is an easy distraction from family. It is replacing real offline relationships with temporary online contacts. We still don’t realise that social media sites can be a quick way for people to learn about breaking news, but it is not always accurate. To cite just one example, in the wake of the devastating attacks in Paris in January 2015, social media sites like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram were literally flooded with updates on the tragedy and not all of that information was correct. More than 10.7 million tweets were posted about Paris terrorism that had left 129 people dead. A good number of these tweets were later debunked by both official and independent sources.

A Canadian Sikh’s bathroom selfie had gone viral after someone had photo-shopped the image and posted it on social media claiming that he was one of the terrorists behind the attacks in Paris. The image was altered so that it appeared that the Sikh was holding the Holy Quran and wearing a suicide bomb vest. However, social media users and the Sikh himself were quick to point out that the image had been doctored, but not before the bearded Canadian’s life had become hell.

Yes, people want to express themselves and have their catharsis, but there is a massive difference between gutter press and a responsible social media. They have every right to criticise the ruling governments, even in the harshest of words, but concocted posts do no good to society and spread undue hatred and misunderstanding.

Very recently, a Karachi-based actor was sent a legal notice by the Punjab government for writing and sharing false stories about the number of children kidnapped in the province. The exaggerated numbers pertaining to the abducted children on social media had made the government and parents press the panic button. The consequent probe showed the situation was not alarming at all. Wrong information about safety and security, especially in the context of a country fighting terrorism, may destabilise the daily lives of people and their families.

Having said that, in April 2016, the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Bill 2015 was approved by the country’s legislative houses. It was criticised by some human rights activists who claimed that the new law was curbing human rights and giving overreaching powers to law enforcement agencies. According to critics, the new cyber laws had criminalised activities such as sending text messages without the receiver’s consent or criticising government actions on social media.

Fines and long-term jail terms were proposed for people resorting to hate speech, for those trying to create disputes and spread hatred on the basis of religion beliefs or sectarianism.

Similarly, the laws also made culpable social media posters transferring or copying of sensitive basic information, irritating others through outrageous posts, creating websites for negative purposes, for those found guilty of being involved in immoral activities like publishing an individual’s picture without consent, sending obscene messages or unnecessary cyber interference and for those spreading misinformation about individuals and state institutions.

Soon after the cyber laws were enacted, a few online content posters started calling themselves “prisoners of conscience.”

(To be concluded)

The writer is a graduate of LUMS and currently serves as an MPA of Punjab. She tweets at @hinaparvezbutt