Islamabad
A government spokesperson on Thursday said the new “Online Content Rules 2020” were aimed at safeguarding the country. The protection is against an unprecedented onslaught of Hybrid Warfare due to regional and extra regional re-alignments.
In a statement the spokesperson said it was imperative for Pakistani state to defend itself against this speeding invasion of chaotic cyber space, which was noting less than an “unhealthy ingress, impacting social fiber of the society.”
The statement comes at a time when an EU based organisation is revealed the huge amount of disinformation and fifth generation warfare unleashed against Pakistan by over 750 fake Indian news outlets, operating from 119 countries, over 10 UN accredited NGOs.
He said the revised social media rules were prepared by a committee constituted by Prime Minister Imran Khan under the Chairman PTA, after due consultation process with various relevant national and international stake holders.
He said the draft rules after vetting by Ministry of Law Justice were processed by Ministry of Information Technology and Telecom for the Cabinet, and were approved on Oct 6.
The spokesperson pointed that social media platforms were being exploited by various quarters in Pakistan to spread fake and false narratives triggering chaos in society and adversely impacting our social, cultural and religious norms.
“The new rules define boundaries to protect masses from various online negativity including blasphemy, discrediting state, abusing institutions, appointments, individuals, inciting sectarian or ethnic hate and harassment etc.”—APP
