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Amended Peca bill proposes 3-year jail, Rs2m fine over ‘fake news’

Muhammad Anis & Asif Bashir Chaudhary
Thursday, Jan 23, 2025

ISLAMABAD: The government on Wednesday introduced the Prevention of Electronic Crimes (Amendment) Bill 2025 in the National Assembly, aiming to prevent cybercrimes and firm its control on misuse of social media with harsh penalties.

“Whoever intentionally disseminates, publicly exhibits, or transmits any information through any information system, that he knows or has reason to believe to be false or fake and likely to cause or create a sense of fear, panic or disorder or unrest in general public or society shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend upto three years or with fine which may extend to Rs2 million or with both,” the proposed legislation, presented by Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazir Tarar to amend the Prevention of Electonic Crimes Act 2016, stated.

The draft also envisages the establishment of Social Media Protection and Regulatory Authority (SMPRA), the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) and the Social Media Protection Tribunal. The statement of objects and reasons said that the Prevention of Electronic Crimes (Amendment) Bill 2025 aims to modernise and enhance the legislative framework for combating cybercrime in Pakistan, ensuring alignment with present-day requirements and addressing the growing complexities of cyber threats.

The minister also introduced the Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Bill 2025 which proposes 65 amendments and insertions in the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898 (CrPC). The House also passed the Biological and Toxic Weapons Convention (Implementation) Bill 2025 to establish bodies and mechanisms to ensure compliance with the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) in Pakistan.

The SMPRA would ensure the online safety and rights of persons on social media platforms from any kind of harm, regulate the unlawful offensive content on social media platforms available in Pakistan, regulate enlistment of social media platforms and grant, renew, refuse, suspend and enlist social media platforms.

The authority would also be empowered to partially or fully block a social media platform if it fails to comply with guidelines as given under the legislation. It would also issue directions to the relevant authorities to block or remove the unlawful or offensive content for the reasons to be recorded in writing for 30 days subject to the grant of another extension if any for a maximum period of 30 days by the majority of all the members of the authority.

The SMPRA would consist of a chairperson and eight members of which the interior secretary, Pemra and PTA heads, or any other member, would be ex-officio members. The chairperson and members would be appointed for an extendable period of five years provided that they do not exceed the age of 58 at the time of initial appointment. Five members to be appointed by the government would include, a journalist having at least 10 years’ experience and associated with a press club, a social media expert, an IT entrepreneur, a lawyer and a software engineer.

The government may by notification in the official gazette, establish as many Social Media Protection Tribunals. Where more than one such tribunals are established, the government would specify territorial limits. A tribunal would consist of a chairperson, who has been or is qualified to be a judge of a high court, a journalist registered with any press club of Pakistan having not less than 12 years of relevant experience, a software engineer, and an expert in the field of social media rights. The tribunal may hear appeals of aggrieved persons of decisions of the SMPRA.

The federal government would establish the NCCIA for investigation and prosecution of the offences specified under the legislation the Prevention of Electronic Crimes (Amendment) Bill 2025. Only an authorised officer of the investigation agency would have the power to investigate an offence under the legislation. Before the establishment of SMPRA and NCCIA, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority and the investigation agency existing would continue to perform their functions accordingly.

Social media means any person who owns, provides or manages an online information system for provision of social media or social network service or a website, application or mobile web application, platform or communication channel, and any other such application and service that permits a person to become a registered user, establish an account, or create a public profile for the primary purpose of allowing the user to post or share user-generated content through such an account or profile, or enables one or more users to generate content that can be viewed, posted or shared by other users of such platform but do not include the licensees of the PTA.

The draft stated that any person “aggrieved by fake and false information” can approach the authority for removal or blocking access to such information and the authority would issue orders no later than 24 hours on the request.

The draft stated that the authority would have the power to issue directions to a social media platform for removal or blocking of online content if it was against the ideology of Pakistan; incites the public to violate the law, take the law into its own hands, coerce, intimidate or terrorise the public, individuals, groups, communities, government officials and institutions invite the public or section of the public to cause damage to governmental or private property to coerce or intimidate the public or section of the public and thereby prevent them from carrying on their lawful trade and disrupting civic life, incite hatred and contempt on the religious, sectarian or ethnic basis to stir up violence or cause internal disturbance contains anything obscene or pornographic in contravention of any applicable laws known to be fake or false or there existed sufficient reasons to believe that the same may be fake or false beyond a reasonable doubt contains aspersions against any person, including members of the judiciary, armed forces, parliament or a provincial assembly or promoted and encouraged terrorism and other forms of violence against the state or its institutions.

Additionally, the draft proposed the constitution of a Social Media Complaint Council to receive and process complaints made by aggrieved parties against violation of any provision of the cybercrime law.

Meanwhile, through the proposed amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898, an elaborate mechanism for the procedure of arrest, release of the accused in petty cases and speedy trials of all the cases within specified timelines is provided.

Moreover, the protection of women under the supervision of female police officers and medical officers would be ensured. Police rooms would be established to maintain a database of arrested persons and arresting officers for information to the public. The first information about both cognisable and non-cognisable cases is to be entered into a separate register. Under a newly proposed procedure, the statement of the witness and the trials be conducted through the introduction of modern electronic means and audio/ video recording, the investigation is to be completed and the challan is to be submitted within 60 days. Timeline for the trial is introduced -- the trial is to be completed by the courts within one month.

It is proposed that the entire testimony would be audio/video recorded, without the interjection of the trial judge, except in a matter of inadmissible evidence or noting the demeanour of the witness. ln cases of an accused with an unsound mind, a Medical Board would examine the accused and submit its report.

Also, a report by a chemical examiner or forensic scientist may be used in any inquiry, trial or proceedings without the need to call such persons a witness. The trial court would prescribe the case management schedule.