The notorious Cyber Crime bill passed by the National Assembly with only 9% of its 342 members is now a law. The bill which has been termed Draconian by almost every other Public media outlet has some extremely upsetting features that if allowed to be implemented will be nothing short of a calamity for the nation of Pakistan and its people. Particularly the younger, social media generation.
The act which has been given the title of the ‘Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2015’ provides legal mechanisms for the investigation, prosecution, trial and international cooperation of crimes in connection with information systems.
The bill extends to the whole of Pakistan and will be applicable to every Pakistani citizen both residing in and outside of Pakistan. The bill also grants extraterritorial jurisdiction to crimes in relation to information systems which either directly or indirectly affect persons or information systems within the territorial jurisdiction of Pakistan. The act shall come into force at once.
How it will affect you:
1. If you now post something on facebook that is critical of religion especially if it is critical of Islam or against the glory of Islam in any way that the government deems so, then prepare to face the law.
2. Any such content will also be removed, destroyed or blocked.
3. You cannot post anything that, in the eyes of the government is harming the dignity of a natural person then that means you can say goodbye to critical thinking and freedom of expression.
4. You cannot now share any video which the government finds to be vulgar or in any way inappropriate. So say adios to fun and privacy.
5. If you decide to share a picture of your teacher sleeping in class. And he decides to report you then good grades will be the least of your problems. Moreover, you cannot share pictures or videos of anyone without their consent. So that selfie with your favorite actor may put you in jail.
6. If you decide to prank your school teacher by emailing him a virus. Then being caught by the principle will not matter, as you will be too busy in court pleading your case.
7. If you think you’ve found the facebook id of your childhood crush then prepare to fantasize about him/her behind bars.
8. Watching questionable material online without the government watching you is now out of the question. And if you get caught prepare to have your history searched thoroughly and have all your privacy crumpled.
9. It should also be noted that the sharing of such content is also illegal.
10. Moreover, if you think you’ve protected yourself by deleting your history or turning on incognito mode then don’t get your hopes high as the government now has access to a year’s worth of your internet history.
11. If you decide to criticize Saudi Arabia for its blasphemy laws then it will not be the Saudi government coming after you in their police Ferraris instead look forward to sitting in the notorious Police Dala.
12. You cannot now criticize even your own government but if you do prepare to find the law knocking on your door,
13. Maybe the scariest part of this ordeal is that an investigating officer has the right to enter your house without a warrant and make you give them your password and search through your computer or any device for that matter and if needed also seize any device he sees fit.
So in a way prepare to give a shoulder to the funeral of your freedom of speech, freedom of expression and your privacy. Pakistan is now one step closer to becoming the next North Korea. Press Finish to completely destroy the lives of your citizens.