Islamabad, (Dec 4, 2024): Bytes for All strongly condemns the arbitrary disruption of social media platforms in Pakistan. Netizens in Pakistan have been facing slow internet at regular intervals which is not only affecting the digital economy but also leading to the violation of a set of fundamental rights of the citizens, including the right to privacy, free speech, access to information, peaceful assembly, and economic rights guaranteed under Articles 14, 19, 19A, 16, 18 and 38 of the Constitution of Pakistan, respectively.
Bytes For All believes that the blocking, throttling, and filtering of the internet is not a solution ‘to maintain public order and safety’. Pakistan is a democracy and it is only the transparency, accountability and the rule of law that will enable a safe and secure environment for public life. We are also concerned that the government has reportedly installed a web monitoring system or firewall to monitor online activities and content on social media apps which is also in violation of globally acclaimed fundamental rights.
In a recent development, the Pakistani government has also announced plans to block unregistered Virtual Private Networks (VPNs). It is important to note that VPNs enable citizens to access information, express freely and securely in online spaces and run IT/ICTs-enabled businesses, media, education and overall governance at national, provincial and local levels. Furthermore, the registration process of VPNs introduced by the PTA is only limited to IT businesses and the freelancer community.
While Pakistan is yet to take full advantage of 4G spectrum launched in 2014, the government is planning to roll out 5G spectrum in the coming months. At a time, when the world is moving towards open governance structures, providing more and more transparency and accountability in matters of citizens’ wellbeing, the telecom operators in Pakistan have shown great concerns over the government’s plans to filter and block the internet arbitrarily which undermines not only the telecom sector development but also gravely impacts the socio-economic wellbeing of the citizens.
We urge the authorities to refrain from such arbitrary actions of censorship and communication blackouts as they are fundamentally against the globally acclaimed and agreed norms and principles of democracy. Please also note that filtering the Internet will never help public order but good governance and rule of law.
Mass censorship is not a solution, it is a problem itself.
