Digital media freedoms decline due to censorship, safety threats: report

ISLAMABAD: The relationship between the state and media freedoms deteriorated during the past two years due to growing instances of censorship, violence against journalists, and government disdain for critical media, according to a new report.

The report titled “Under Siege: Legislative, Judicial and Executive Actions Stifling Freedom of Expression and Right to Information” was published by the Institute of Research, Advocacy and Development (IRADA) as part of its annual state of digital journalism series.

“This year’s report examines key legislative developments in Pakistan during the critical year of 2023, shedding light on recent acts impacting freedom of expression, access to information and the digital media landscape,” Muhammad Aftab Alam, Executive Director of IRADA, said.

Alam added: “Acts such as the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) Amendment Act and Official Secrets Amendment Act, while introducing some positive provisions, have raised concerns about potential infringements on freedom of expression.”

The report investigates the effects of judicial decisions on overall freedom of expression (FOE), indicating nuances in court decisions that both protect and impose restrictions.

“The fact that courts have used restrictive interpretations on FOE laws to shut down criticism of courts erodes their credibility to uphold it against other organs of the state. There is a fundamental mistrust of free speech in our post-colonial state structure, where the presumption is against free speech, and a citizen has to prove an exception: as opposed to it being the other way around,” Saroop Ijaz from the Human Rights Watch is quoted as saying in the report.

Contributing factors for this mistrust include specific incidents such as the ban on the film Joyland and general scrutinising actions by regulatory bodies, such as the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and PEMRA, in the form of content restrictions, internet shutdowns, and censorship, according to the report.

During the period under review, the PTA blocked as many as 1.1 million URLs including 187 mobile applications. Out of these blocked or removed URLs and content, around 200,000 were alleged to be related to the contempt of court, against the defence of Pakistan or glory of Islam, defamatory and sectarian/hate speech content, the report stated.

The report also uncovers a significant number of content removal requests from the Pakistani government to big tech platforms such as Google, Meta, TikTok, and X (formerly Twitter). For example, Between January 2021 to June 2022, Meta restricted access in Pakistan to 12,001 items reported by the PTA for allegedly violating local laws, according to the report.

Pakistan continues to use Section 54 of the Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-organization) Act, of 1996 which authorises the PTA to take temporary measures, including internet and network shutdowns, in the interest of national security and public safety. 

The report cites international digital rights organisation AccessNow to show that between 2022 and 2023 there were six internet/network shutdowns across the country, as per directives from the government.

Broadcast media was also subjected to intense censorship. In 2023, PEMRA issued an order naming 11 “proclaimed offenders”, including journalists and politicians, to be prohibited from being mentioned in the media.