Legal limitations on online expression in Pakistan Sadaf Khan Media Matters for Democracy (MMfD) mediamatters.pk Introduction The internet and freedom of expression On 19 March 2014, the Express Tribune, a local affiliate of the International Herald Tribune, was published with five columns of blank space. The space was originally given to an article titled “What Pakistan Knew about Bin Laden”,1 an opinion piece about Pakistan’s possible knowledge of Bin Laden’s presence in Abbotabad. In the times before the internet, the Pakistani readership would have remained unaware of what was supposed to appear in those ominously blank five columns. However, within hours of the distribution of the blank paper, Twitter was alive with links of the censored article. This incident demonstrates both the impact of the internet on freedom of expression and access to information and the mindset of states that still believe in controlling public access to information. That freedom of expression online is a fundamental human right is now well established through multiple UN resolutions and recommendations. In 2012, the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) affirmed that “the same rights that people have offline must also be protected online.”2 This affirmation means that at state levels it is important to ensure that the practice of rights online is enabled and ensured. As technology grows and the penetration of the internet widens, the benefits of technology, particularly in connection with the practice of social and political rights, have become more and more obvious. 1 2 Gall, C. (2014, 23 March). What Pakistan Knew About Bin Laden. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/23/ magazine/what-pakistan-knew-about-bin-laden.html Human Rights Council. (2012). The promotion, protection and enjoyment of human rights on the Internet. A/HRC/20/L.13. ap.ohchr.org/documents/alldocs.aspx?doc_id=20280 We live in a world where the Arab Spring is globally recognised as a political revolution that was triggered and sustained through the use of social media and digital technology. As a consequence of the demonstrated potential of digital technologies to challenge political power structures, states have responded by enacting legislation that enables them to exercise increased control over the digital avenues of expression. It is thus important to document how laws and policies in different countries have come to interact with internet rights. One right that this paper is particularly concerned with is the right of freedom of expression. Freedom of expression, a cornerstone right of any democratic society, has hugely benefited from digital technologies. Whether it is the possibility of anonymity, the connection and networking with like-minded audiences, the ease and cost of mass communication, the access to information at a global level or the potential to mobilise, the internet has enabled journalists, activists and citizens to enhance the potential impact of their expression. Consequently, states, particularly those where power status quos are existent, have responded negatively to this potential new threat to the power dynamics. The Pakistan context In May 2017, the Federal Ministry of Interior and then Federal Minister of Interior Ch. Nisar Ahmed issued multiple statements expressing their displeasure over the use of social media and expressing intent to initiate and strengthen a crackdown against those using social media platforms for expressing sentiment that was deemed dangerous by the ministry. On 23 May, the Interior Minister issued a statement saying that “our cultural and religious values are under attack from a section of social media.”3 The statement also included a vow to ensure 3 The Express Tribune. (2017, 23 May). No restrictions either: No unbridled freedom on social media, says Nisar. The Express Tribune. https://tribune.com.pk/story/1417195/ anti-army-content-social-media-will-not-tolerated-chaudhry-nisar PAKISTAN / 103