Can a Whatsapp message get you into trouble with the law? This might be the case if the fate of Pakistan’s cyber crime bill is decided this week. As we prepared to go to press it had been approved by both the National Assembly and Senate. Lawmakers just have to sign off on some amendments or changes after which the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Bill (2015) is likely to become law. Offenders could be jailed for up to 14 years and fined up to Rs50 million.
Now is a good time to figure out what are the do’s and don’ts. Here are a few pieces of advice:
What NOT to do if the new cyber crime bill becomes law:
What TO DO:
Many of these scenarios may seem extreme but given the potential for abuse, and the nature of what appear to be considered “crimes”, anyone with power and an agenda can leverage their resources to wreck your life, and do it completely legally. The loosely and vaguely worded bill opens up the potential for abuse, not just by officials but also by average people and organizations. For example, all data communicated is being retained and people often pass on sensitive information electronically. Someone listening in could use that information to blackmail. This is not just a theory; it has happened and is now being given legal cover.
The bill has been heavily criticized by the IT industry, rights activists and organizations and members of civil society who argue that it has the potential for gross abuse and gives sweeping powers to law-enforcement agencies. They are also unhappy with its ambiguous and vague language, which they say make it easy to cast the net wide for harassment.
This is not to say that Pakistan should not work on reducing electronic and cyber crimes. Any law should, however, be designed to catch and punish those with ill intent and the means to cause harm. It should be worded such that it cannot be misinterpreted by those who want to target and persecute dissenters. The bill will most likely pass the Senate as well, and be signed into law—and only citizens can demand the changes needed to close the loopholes that can lead to abuse.
Now is a good time to figure out what are the do’s and don’ts. Here are a few pieces of advice:
What NOT to do if the new cyber crime bill becomes law:
- If you are a journalist, do not comment or write about potential leaks about corrupt behavior or misconduct of the government, or officials. Under sections 3, 4, or 5, there is a potential that you may be punished for doing so.
- Do not protest or campaign for the release of wrongfully convicted individuals, or any convicted individual for the matter—you may find yourself sharing a cell with them.
- Do not prank your friend and change their status or share a tweet from their account—they could get you fined up to one million rupees.
- Remember Arjumand Hussain who was sacked and charged for uploading a video of former interior minister Rehman Malik arriving late on a plane and delaying the entire flight? Yup. Don’t do that at all. You could be charged under Section 18.
- Do not share any explicit content, and explicit could simply mean a person saying the word “sex”, since it isn’t clear what “sexually explicit content” means in the bill.
- Do not take funny pictures of your friends and threaten to put them online—this kind of ‘blackmail’ could actually get you into a lot of trouble.
- Do not send unsolicited emails or messages online. It can be seen as spamming, which is a criminal offence now.
- Do not discuss anything political, whether satire or not, online or on emails. Everything is being monitored now and you could upset the wrong guy and be imprisoned for it.
What TO DO:
- Write articles glorifying the state, government or officials.
- Break up with your secret paramour unless you are willing to go off the grid and start handwriting letters to them. Your conversations are now being recorded and retained. They can hear it all.
- Clear out your social media (whether it’s your Facebook or Twitter) and make sure you don’t leave any traces behind.
- On Facebook, “unlike” all politically inclined pages, pages supporting human rights or anything remotely political or “liberal” in nature. You don’t want to seem guilty by association.
- Stop using the internet. Period.
Many of these scenarios may seem extreme but given the potential for abuse, and the nature of what appear to be considered “crimes”, anyone with power and an agenda can leverage their resources to wreck your life, and do it completely legally. The loosely and vaguely worded bill opens up the potential for abuse, not just by officials but also by average people and organizations. For example, all data communicated is being retained and people often pass on sensitive information electronically. Someone listening in could use that information to blackmail. This is not just a theory; it has happened and is now being given legal cover.
The bill has been heavily criticized by the IT industry, rights activists and organizations and members of civil society who argue that it has the potential for gross abuse and gives sweeping powers to law-enforcement agencies. They are also unhappy with its ambiguous and vague language, which they say make it easy to cast the net wide for harassment.
This is not to say that Pakistan should not work on reducing electronic and cyber crimes. Any law should, however, be designed to catch and punish those with ill intent and the means to cause harm. It should be worded such that it cannot be misinterpreted by those who want to target and persecute dissenters. The bill will most likely pass the Senate as well, and be signed into law—and only citizens can demand the changes needed to close the loopholes that can lead to abuse.