ISPs to spy on Pakistani internet users

Internet freedom in Pakistan is threatened by a new bill, the Pakistan Prevention of Electronic Crimes 
Act 2015, which will force ISPs to spy on their customers.  The bill was recently passed by a National Assembly and will now be debated in parliament before becoming law.

The new law would further clamp down on Pakistani’s fundamental human rights to freedom of speech and expression, plunging Pakistan deeper into the realms of state censorship, matching existing oppression evident in many countries including and China, North Korea, and Russia which recently banned memes mocking public figures – mostly those of President Vladimir Putin. This new law replaces the Pakistan Electronic Crimes Ordinance in November 2009 which at the time, wasn’t a top priority for the government.


Pakistan, which already censors the internet by enforcing the country’s strict anti-blasphemy, anti-pornography and anti-government rules, has yet to confirm who will oversee this new law, and how it will be implemented.

The Pakistan Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2015 bill includes new regulations which will not only criminalise users for everyday actions that so many us take for granted, but also places all internet users in Pakistan under mass digital surveillance:

• It will be criminal offence to own and operate online accounts on social media platforms in another person’s name
• Online users face jail sentences of up to three years and a huge fine ($9,800) for sharing fake information that “is likely to harm or intimidate the reputation or privacy of a [person]”
• Under the Pakistan Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2015 bill, ISPs will be forced to spy on their customers and keep all user metadata for a year

Pakistan is certainly no stranger to internet censorship. In September 2012 Pakistan banned YouTube after the social media channel failed to remove the trailer “The Innocence of Muslims”, that caused violent protests in Pakistan, and the Islamic world. While the ban on YouTube was supposed to be temporary, the block on Youtube remains three years on.

Threatening netizens with imprisonment and fines of up to $9,800 (the average yearly salary in Pakistan is around $3,060 PPP) is a strategic, manipulative move to control users to comply with this draconian law.

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What do you think about the Pakistan Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2015 bill? Do you think it’s right to force ISPs to spy on their customers?

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