Dawn welcomes PM's call for consultations on Citizens Protection Rules

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published: 20 February 2020

Dawn applauds Prime Minister Imran Khan's call for broader discussions on the controversial Citizens Protection Rules. The editorial stresses the importance of genuinely considering stakeholders' recommendations in shaping online legislation.

Summary

ISLAMABAD: For a change, daily Dawn has welcomed Prime Minister Imran Khan’s call for broader consultations on the controversial Citizens Protection (Against Online Harassment) Rules, 2020.

In its editorial—A welcome invitation—on Thursday, the paper said though the prime minister’s call for more consultation has come after “widespread criticism by international media bodies, technology and business firms, rights groups and social media users alike, it is nonetheless a positive step.”

The paper hoped that the “consultation process is not just a mere formality, and that subsequent recommendations are genuinely considered and incorporated into any new policy, rules or legislation governing online spaces—unlike the passage of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016, by the PML-N government, in which almost all suggestions made by the stakeholders were discarded.”

Dawn said the proposed rules regarding the social media use are deeply flawed and need to be revised. “There is a dire need for legislation that safeguards the personal information and privacy of Pakistanis. Besides threatening citizens’ fundamental rights and risking their digital safety, the ill-conceived social media policy has other serious implications.”