The federal government has requested Rs. 20 billion for the upcoming fiscal year to improve cybersecurity and control social media. According to the idea, social media companies seeking to establish offices nationwide would be the only ones permitted to operate.
According to official sources, the Ministry of Information Technology has requested in the budget for the fiscal year 2024–2025 Rs20 billion for the Digital Information Infrastructure Initiative (DIII). They further stated that the demand was submitted to the finance division as a component of the current expenses budget for the following year.
However, senior ministry representatives did affirm that a request for Rs20 billion in funding for the DIII project has been made.
During the current fiscal year, the information technology ministry has already received a technical supplemental grant of Rs. 15 billion. The Economic Coordination Committee accepted the Ministry of Information Technology’s proposal to “allocate Rs10 billion through [a] technical supplementary grant during the current fiscal year for the Digital Information Infrastructure Initiative,” according to a statement released by the Ministry of Finance in February of this year.
According to the sources, the digital initiative project, which will use Chinese technology, will cost approximately $135 million, or Rs38 billion. While the remaining sum has been requested for the following fiscal year, a sizeable portion is being spent this year.
“Providing requisite technical capabilities to proactively identify potential cyber threats on the national critical information infrastructure, in addition to preventing cybersecurity breaches” was the stated goal of the funding granted to the DIII by the finance ministry.
The Ministry of Information Technology’s regular budget was close to Rs10 billion for the current fiscal year. Nevertheless, it has already been awarded an additional grant totaling over 150% of its initial funding.
The recently implemented technology will also be utilized to control social media in an effort to prevent the “misuse” of various platforms and reduce hostile campaigns that have no basis in reality.
In Pakistan, the government has already outlawed X, formerly known as Twitter. However, proxies are being used by the prime minister, federal ministers, departments, and the general public to access the service. There have been concerns that other platforms may also be subject to the restriction.
The regulation of unrestrained social media has gained more attention recently, especially in stopping hate speech directed towards different people, political parties, and government agencies.
According to the sources, a plan was to restrict the social media platforms that may function in Pakistan to those with a physical presence through national offices. Regarding responding to the government, social media platforms with a presence in Pakistan have been more proactive than those with less of an impact.
According to the sources, new rules are being adjusted to control social media, and laws may be established to give it legal protection.
The federal cabinet rejected the government’s proposed changes to the Pakistan Electronic Crime Act (Peca) 2016. Hence, the government formed a committee to consider the changes.
Through stakeholder discussions, the committee will examine Peca and work at a political agreement on the proposed changes to the act.
Minister of Law Azam Nazir Tarar, Minister of Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar, Minister of Education Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Minister of State for Information Technology Shaza Fatima Khawaja, Senator Sherry Rehman, Nawabzada Khalid Magsi, and Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan lead the committee. Advisor to Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah serves as committee chair.
The events are occurring at a time when the Punjab administration has taken a stand against the media by winning the provincial legislature’s approval of the extremely contentious “Punjab Defamation Bill-2024.”
More than 80 journalists and civil society organizations have signed a petition to reject the law. According to journalist organizations, the Punjab Defamation Bill (2024) is a flagrant violation of the basic rights of free speech and press freedom. The bill has been described as a regressive and harsh instrument to quell criticism and dissent, especially directed at the general public and journalists.
The bill’s features include extortionate fines and the ability to file defamation lawsuits without any harm proof, which are nothing more than legal intimidation techniques. The media bodies claim that the bill invites unwarranted interference by creating tribunals in place of district courts.
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