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The
National Assembly approved the Prevention of Electronic Crimes
Bill 2015 late on Thursday after the Senate had unanimously
adopted it last month.
Government officials say internet restrictions under the new law
are needed to ensure security against growing threats, such as
terrorism.
But the law has alarmed human rights and pro-democracy activists
worried that its vague language could lead to curtailment of
free speech and unfair prosecutions.
"The overly broad language used in the bill ensures that
innocent and ignorant Pakistani citizens, unaware of the
ramifications of what the bill entails, can be ensnared and find
themselves subject to very harsh penalties," said Nighat Daad,
founder of a group called the Digital Rights Foundation.
"There have been no provisions set in place to protect sensitive
data of Pakistani users … The state cannot police people's lives
in this manner."
The law provides for up to seven years in prison for
"recruiting, funding and planning of terrorism" online.
It also allows "authorized officers" to require anyone to unlock
any computer, mobile phone or other device during an
investigation.
Activists say the bill's vague language without well-defined
descriptions for libel or defamation typical in other countries'
could be used to prosecute any satirical website, including
political ones.
The law also carries a penalty of three years for "spoofing".
"Whoever with dishonest intention establishes a website or sends
any information with a counterfeit source intended to be
believed by the recipient or visitor of the website, to be an
authentic source commits spoofing," the law says.
Daad said the bill allowed the Pakistan Telecommunications
Authority "unlimited powers" to decide what was illegal.
Governments around the world have been grappling with how to
block online incitement to criminal activity, while major
internet services have stepped up campaigns to identify and
remove Web postings that incite violence.
Facebook, Google and Twitter are working more aggressively to
combat online propaganda and recruiting by Islamist militants
while trying to avoid the perception they are helping state
authorities police the Web.
More than 30 million of Pakistan's 190 million people use the
internet, mainly on mobile telephones, according to digital
rights organization Bytes for All.
(Reporting and writing by Mehreen Zahra-Malik; Editing by Robert
Birsel)
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