Observer Report
Islamabad
The Asia Internet Coalition, comprising global digital media giants have banded together against the government’s newly-introduced social media rules, threatening to suspend services if the laws were not amended. In a scathing letter written to Prime Minister Imran Khan, the Asia Internet Coalition — which includes Facebook, Twitter, Google, Apple, Amazon, Airbnb, Line, LinkedIn, and Yahoo, among others — said it was difficult for them to operate when such rules were in place. “The rules as currently written would make it extremely difficult for Asia Internet Coalition Members to make their services available to Pakistani users and businesses,” read the letter, referring to the Citizens Protection Rules (Against Online Harm). The new set of regulations makes it compulsory for social media companies to open offices in Islamabad, build data servers to store information, and take down content upon identification by authorities. Failure to comply with the authorities in Pakistan will result in heavy fines and possible termination of services.
The Asia Internet Coalition questioned the way the rules were approved by the government, stating that it had not taken the stakeholders into confidence before introducing the regulations.
It added that the regulations were causing “international companies to re-evaluate their view of the regulatory environment in Pakistan, and their willingness to operate in the country”. Referring to the rules as “vague and arbitrary in nature”, the Asia Internet Coalition said it was forcing them to go against established norms of user privacy and freedom of expression.
