Just as the invention of the printing press heralded a new era of improved access to information in centuries past, the dawn of the internet age was also a huge milestone of contemporary times. In both cases, rigidly controlled networks of information transformed into more or less democratised ones that, over time, brought the general conscious of our species up a few notches.
After these transformations, not only did people have more information to fill their minds with but the opening up of avenues for the creation of knowledge to all who wanted to participate had a discernible impact on human progress as well. While the printing press was still limited because of a few physical constraints like the time needed to copy texts, the internet is a different beast altogether. Push a few buttons on your connected device right now and all the information that all humans have ever produced will be made available in nanoseconds.
Concurrent with global trends, Pakistan has also seen a sharp increase in internet usage courtesy of the declining price trends in technology. Besides leisurely use, a horde of innumerable voices has also taken to the online platform to let their opinions be heard. Online social networks like Twitter and Facebook have contributed greatly not only to the rise of democratisation of information and access, but have also encouraged all and sundry to come forth and make their point in front of a potentially global audience. Furthermore, analytical content available on websites and blogs run by different organisations and individuals alike is responsible for providing instant access to important global developments, all from the safety and comfort of our abodes.
But, as is the way of the world, all good things must come to an end. At a time when all aspects of our public and private lives have been impacted by the creeping influence of conservative ideals, the internet stood out like a shining beacon of hope. No matter what was happening in the real world, the online world was still a relatively secure place for discussing ideas deemed too radical for the mainstream. However, if current trends are any indication, that might just be about to change.
The latest cause for concern is the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Bill 2015, which is being expedited through otherwise time consuming legislative steps and, if passed by the National Assembly, will soon become the law of the land. Under the proposed bill, any and all content against religion, state, foreign countries and national institutions and officeholders will be liable to be blocked, coupled with punishment for the propagators of such content. Worryingly, the provisions for due process in the bill are extremely feeble and feel as if they were forcibly inserted against the will of the drafters. Moreover, private user data will be retained by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) for 90 days in case a person is charged under the new legislative measure, which in the absence of proper data protection laws leaves the individuals at the mercy of an encroaching state. Without avenues for recourse that can be used by civil society, this new bill is bound to challenge the fundamental constitutional rights of Pakistani citizens.
Additionally, the way in which the bill has been drafted speaks volumes for the stilted mind-sets at the very top. All input from civil society organisations and other stakeholders was set aside by an ad hoc committee that redrafted the bill that proposes blanket powers of curtailment and censorship to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA). Staying true to the tradition of inducting morality police in all public and private matters, the bill is an effort to patrol the internet highways in order to establish hegemony over the content circulating online. The bill will fundamentally curtail dissent and snub freedom of expression by limiting avenues for creating and/or posting content online.
The idea behind the bill, of course, is not new by any stretch of the imagination. The if-you-cannot-beat-them-then-silence-them mantra has been in force occasionally in the form of blocking access to many blogs and websites. Over the past couple of years, more and more freedoms have been curtailed in the guise of the trickiest of all concepts: national security. Maintaining the balance between liberty and security for the citizens is indeed a difficult feat but the scales in Pakistan have long tipped towards the latter at the expense of the former.
Of course there is a need to manage our online interactions and there are avenues for positive interventions by the state. For instance, measures can be put in place to curb hacking of official websites and social media accounts. Furthermore, cyber bullying and spreading hate speech online can also be stopped by punitive measures. But, like all things Pakistani, the bill prefers overkill to nuanced responses.
The truth is that all such censorship ends up doing is exposing the insecurities of the ones in power. Even in times when access to information was tightly controlled, dissenting voices still found their way into the public sphere. Many among them ended up defying the limits of human achievement and it was because of their differing points of view that they were able to do so. Thriving societies all over the world actively encourage difference of opinion in order to generate constructive debate around issues that impact us all, and freedom to do so is a primary reason in their progress. After suppressing all dissent from the national discourse in Pakistan, the freedom for online disagreement is now also under threat. It is about time we come to terms with the fact that there are no prizes for finishing first in this race to the bottom.
The author is a freelance columnist with degrees in political science and international relations