Pakistan blocks 80k SIM cards for spreading fake news

 Islamabad: Pakistan authorities have blocked approximately 80,000 SIM cards for spreading fake news amid concerns regarding the social media propelled misinformation, the government said on Wednesday.

 Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Division Sajid Mehdi told the National Assembly, in response to a calling attention notice regarding the spread of false news on digital platforms, also pointed out the need for reforms in the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), 2016 to better tackle the issue of fake news.

 The amendments to this law would expedite the trial of cases related to the dissemination of false information, he added.

 The issue of fake news has already grabbed international attention as a major threat to domestic and global peace and stability and authorities claimed that Pakistan has faced the challenge in the wake of protests by the jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s party.

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 Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party extensively uses social media to drive home its messages, which the government claims is fake news.

 Meanwhile, Pakistani authorities have booked 150 suspects and arrested 22 of them, mostly belonging to Khan’s party, for allegedly propagating messages against the army on social media about the killings of the party workers in Islamabad on November 26, an official said on Wednesday.

 Mehdi said the government’s proactive steps, including blocking SIM cards, revising laws, and establishment of a joint task force, are aimed at mitigating the harmful effects of fake news.

 The joint task force has already submitted its report to the Prime Minister and highlighted the seriousness of the issue, Mehdi said, adding, the task force’s ongoing work would continue to address the issue.

 The government was also registering Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to improve monitoring and control of online activities, Mehdi said and expressed confidence that these efforts would lead to improvements in curbing the spread of fake news.

 After more than 69,000 SIM cards were blocked during the first phase in August 2016, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) launched the second phase of blocking mobile SIM cards a few months ago.

 In the first phase, SIM cards registered against Computerised National Identity Cards (CNICs) that expired before 2017 and have not been renewed, were blocked.

 Pakistan military’s top generals on December 5 voiced concern about the spread of “propaganda and disinformation” targeting the armed forces and urged the government to enforce strict laws to curb the hate speech and polarisation being spread under the guise of free speech.

 According to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the military, the demand was made during the 84th Formation Commanders’ Conference chaired by Army Chief General Asim Munir at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi.