Journalism Pakistan
Journalism Pakistan
Even a win can't hide Pakistan's structural collapse in cricket فتح بھی پاکستان کرکٹ کے ڈھانچے کی تباہی نہیں چھپا سکتیJournalists stage walkout at post-budget briefing over government's dismissive attitude صحافیوں کا بجٹ کے بعد کی بریفنگ سے واک آؤٹ، حکومت کے توہین آمیز رویے پر احتجاجLegal storm brews as Dr. Nauman Niaz serves defamation notice on Shoaib Akhtar ڈاکٹر نعمان نیاز کی جانب سے شعیب اختر کو ہتکِ عزت کا نوٹسHRCP urges complete repeal of PECA, citing threats to free speech and civil liberties ایچ آر سی پی کا پی ای سی اے کے مکمل خاتمے کا مطالبہ، آزادی اظہار اور شہری آزادیوں کے لیے خطرہ قرارPFUJ condemns murder of journalist Syed Mohammad Shah, urges immediate justice پی ایف یو جے کا صحافی سید محمد شاہ کے قتل کی مذمت، قاتل کی فوری گرفتاری کا مطالبہState within a state? Police block reinstated Jang employees from resuming duties ریاست کے اندر ریاست؟ جنگ گروپ کے بحال شدہ ملازمین کو دفتر جانے سے روک دیا گیاMoeed Pirzada to report journalist Fakhar Durrani to FBI over alleged data theft معروف صحافی معید پیرزادہ کا فخر درانی کے خلاف ایف بی آئی کو رپورٹ کرنے کا فیصلہ

Pakistan among worst countries for internet freedom: report

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published November 06, 2019

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Pakistan among worst countries for internet freedom: report

Pakistan is among the worst ten countries in the world for internet and digital media freedom, according to a report by an internet watchdog.

The Freedom House, an international internet rights group, released its ‘Freedom on the Net’ (FoTN) report for 2019, titled ‘The Crisis of Social Media,’  recording an overall decline in global internet freedom between June 2018 and May 2019.

The watchdog in its report placed Pakistan at 26, out of 100 (100 being the worst) — one place down from last year’s ranking, Dawn News quoted the report as saying.

The country scored 5 out of 25 for obstacles to access, 14 out of 35 for limits on content, and 7 out of 40 for violation of user rights index.

Globally, Pakistan is among the worst ten countries in terms of internet and digital media freedom. In terms of regional ranking, Pakistan emerged as the third-worst country after Vietnam and China, the report said.

Besides decline in internet freedom, the report found election manipulation in Pakistan through informational tactics such as the coordinated use of hyper-partisan commentators, bots, or news sites to disseminate false or misleading content as well as technical tactics, including intentional restrictions on connectivity and blocking of websites, it said.

The report for Pakistan was authored by the Digital Rights Foundation. DRF Executive Director Nighat Dad said: “The score this year is the culmination of short-term and regressive policies by successive governments. Years worth of draconian legislation and investment in structures that stymie freedom of expression has led to an environment where the internet in Pakistan is more unsafe and less inclusive.”

Internet penetration registered only marginal increases during the reporting period. There are 67 million broadband connections in Pakistan, an increase of 10m since the last report. However, it added that government initiatives to provide access to remote areas had progressed in recent years.

The report observed that authorities frequently disrupt telecommunication services during protests, elections, and religious and national holidays, often citing security concerns. During the 2018 general elections, mobile internet services were notably suspended in parts of Balochistan, and in all of former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) during both the election period and in the lead-up, the report said.

The report noted that authorities had upped their efforts to silence critical journalists and activists using a range of techniques. Users were sentenced to death on charges of posting blasphemous content online, although their convictions were under appeal.

Over 800,000 websites hosting political, religious, and social content remain blocked while the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority continued to restrict content in a nontransparent and arbitrary fashion, the report said.

It added that state and other actors were known to exert extralegal pressure on publishers and content producers to remove content, and these instances frequently went unreported.

It observed that most online commentators exercised a degree of self-censorship when writing on topics such as religion, blasphemy, civil-military relations, separatist movements, and women’s and other minority communities’ rights.

The report said that governments around the world were increasingly using social media to manipulate elections and monitor their citizens, tilting the technology toward digital authoritarianism. — Agencies

 

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