Washington
Chief US diplomat for South Asian affairs, Alice Wells, on Tuesday expressed concern over the Pakistan government’s new social media regulations, adding that they “could be a setback to freedom of expression and development of digital economy”. Taking to Twitter, she stated: “Unfortunate if Pakistan discourages foreign investors and stifles domestic innovation in such a dynamic sector. Encourage discussion with stakeholders.”
On February 12, the federal cabinet had approved a set of rules to regulate social media in the country, under which social media companies will be obliged to disclose any information or data to a designated investigation agency, when sought, and failure to abide by any of the provisions will entail a fine of up to Rs500 million.
