Pakistani authorities announced a new law that will help them in combating false news on social media, a move that free-media groups and the opposition have criticized as being dangerous for being against the freedom of speech.

Overview:

This law minister of Pakistan announced this new law to be necessary as it will help in stopping the spread of fake news and will help in clamping down on such harmful contents.

The Pakistan Human Rights Commission (HRCP) has described the new law to be undemocratic. As per them, the new law will be used to suppress people and opponents of the government forcefully which will hamper the freedom of speech of the citizens.

Changes made under the law

The Presidential Ordinance 2022, dubbed the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Ordinance, raised the maximum sentence for defamation of people or institutions from three to five years in prison and restricts suspected offenders’ access to bail. Spreading false news will be classified as a nonbailable offense punishable by up to six months in prison.