Social Media Bill, 2025 ●​ Resulted in Nepal banning TikTok over hate speech concerns, later lifted after the platform complied with government-mandated content regulations. ●​ Criminalizes fake and anonymous profiles, false information, and deepfakes. ●​ Requires data localization and content moderation and proposes strict penalties. ●​ Grants excessive powers to the government to criminalize dissent and increase surveillance. Pakistan Through increasing trends of prosecuting free flow of speech and categorizing anti-military and government content as blasphemous (Sohail & Durrani, 2023), Pakistan has adopted a techno-authoritarian approach to the internet. From heightened surveillance powers being granted to its intelligence agencies (Asad, 2024) to banning platforms for hosting “objectionable content,” the country fails to provide judicial grounding or transparency in its actions of filtering, blocking, and taking down content (Jahangir, 2024). Its courts continue to approach new digital media regulations with an antiquated media mindset, failing to account for the complexities of modern digital communication. These oppressive practices have been codified primarily through the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), 2016 and the influence of the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) (Ahmed et. al, 2023). Initially introduced as a legal framework to address digital harms, PECA is laden with vague provisions that grant authorities broad enforcement discretion. Rather than serving its intended purpose, the law now facilitates government overreach under the guise of national security (Aziz, 2022). Empowered by PECA, the PTA frequently restricts internet access as a means of suppressing political dissent, while internet shutdowns have become a routine tool for silencing religious or political opposition (Migliano, 2025). Recent amendments have further expanded PECA’s reach, introducing stricter provisions that legitimize and extend military surveillance powers (Amnesty International, 2025). These developments coincide with increased internet restrictions since 2024. VPN disruptions, initially attributed to a “technical glitch,” were later justified under a new VPN 15