Pakistan’s Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) has been changed, which has started a new conversation about digital rights, freedom of speech, and the government’s ability to control what happens in virtual places. Many people in Pakistan and around the world are worried about these changes to the law because the government plans to use them to stop spreading false information. Under PECA 2025, Pakistan’s hacking laws will change in important ways. Distributing “fake and false information” while working under the watch of the central regulatory body could lead to arrest, up to three years in prison, and fines. There are worries about fairness and due process in Pakistan’s digital space, as well as the future of social media supervision, if there was a single governing body like this.
A Turning Point in Pakistan’s Digital Governance
Because of how quickly society is becoming digitalised, governments all over the world have promised to make their rules against cybercrime stronger. The latest move by Pakistan is part of a global trend where countries try to control social media platforms and the stories they make up. The most recent changes to PECA are Pakistan’s biggest shift in governance. Instead of focussing on traditional cybercrime enforcement, the country is now controlling material and censoring it through state-led methods. The broad meanings of “fake news,” “propaganda,” and “false information” make it very likely that authorities will use them inarbitrary ways. Tougher definitions would stop people from abusing these laws, which lets the government shut down people who question the system and control social media conversations, isolating independent views. Pakistan has always depended on the media, civil society, and the courts to protect the public’s right to free speech. This situation is worrying because of this.
The main change to the structure is the creation of an authority with broad powers to block and remove material from the internet. With lightning speed, the authority is in charge of both looking into content breaches and making decisions in 24-hour tribunals. Rapid digital regulation is needed to make things run more smoothly, but it needs to be used carefully to avoid things like child abuse and direct calls to violence. Also, the short deadlines could threaten basic process checks and balances. The limited appeals process to higher courts is helpful, but the quickly growing number of cases that need to be looked at could overwhelm the courts’ ability to handle them. Still, these quick decisions made by an authority group that could be controlled hurt both the principle of judicial independence and the principle of content neutrality.
Why This Matters
The amendments create profound consequences which extend past official corridors of law and politics. Online content generators and digital businesses and media organizations need established legislative parameters to conduct their operations in modern economic environments. Vague laws with expansive regulations create an environment of self-censorship which triggers businesses and individuals to regulate their expression as well as control their creativity to stay clear of legal trouble. Pakistan stands to face international consequences because of its present regulatory situation. Any degradation of digital rights within Pakistan may trigger closer evaluation from international stakeholders since the country joined the Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) agreement which promotes human rights and democratic principles. The implementation of limiting digital regulations poses risks to attract foreign direct investment specifically in sectors that need transparency in both information-sharing and operational practices.
Mirroring Global Trends
• The dispute between digital governance and civil liberties exists as a common challenge for other nations in addition to Pakistan. Several nations from the Western Hemisphere together with various Global South states have initiated new legislation to defend against misinformation and control social media networks.
• The government of India enjoys powers under their IT Rules to order social media companies to erase objectionable content and penalize them criminally when they fail to comply. A similar criticism exists regarding these regulations because they provide unclear definitions which enable government authorities to potentially silence dissent.
• The Turkish government implemented new internet laws that make “disinformation” distribution punishable by three years of imprisonment time. Experts have identified Turkish legislation as an electoral time tool for expanding state media management authority.
• Russia built filtering capabilities through its “Sovereign Internet” law to control online content with public security and national defense as the basic foundation.
• Similar legislative measures are underway by Western democratic governments as well. Two pieces of legislation demonstrate legislative attempts to make platforms responsible for harmful content: the United Kingdom’s Online Safety Act and Germany’s NetzDG. Multiple experts criticize Pakistan’s PECA amendments due to their lack of transparency alongside judicial controls and precise definitions of criminal content which these existing frameworks typically provide.
While governments worldwide have legitimate concerns regarding the harmful impacts of fake news, cyberbullying, and digital extremism, the solution lies in designing legislation that upholds international human rights standards. This includes ensuring:
• Clear and narrow definitions of criminalized content.
• Independent oversight bodies, free from executive influence.
• Transparent mechanisms for content moderation and appeals.
• Safeguards for press freedom and free expression, even in the face of misinformation challenges.
If regulations keep growing without limits, Pakistan could become a “surveillance-first” state where political goals, not legal ones, determine what people can and can’t do online. People’s conversations in public would be very different because of these changes, which would have big effects on society as a whole. Because of the way business works, companies that work with digital marketing, media production, or tech innovation have to deal with a legal situation that requires them to constantly check their content to make sure it’s legal. It looks like the rules are hard to predict and follow for foreign businesses, which makes people less confident in Pakistan’s digital economy. In Pakistan, the PECA 2025 reforms are a major change in how the government controls digital space. While the passage calls for changes to the law and says that society should be protected against false information, it also raises major concerns about the loss of digital rights, freedom of speech, and the rule of law. Other countries and Pakistan need to find a good balance that protects freedom and security while upholding the democratic ideals that are needed for a strong information environment. Different countries around the world should take a look at how Pakistan controls fake news, because if there isn’t enough oversight, well-meaning safety measures can turn into tools that restrict free speech and democracy.
Research Associate, Pakistan House