IHC Refers Social Media Rules to NA for Making Necessary Amendments

Under the patronage of PM Imran, the previous federal government introduced the controversial Social Media Rules that were censured by different segments of society. In response, petitions were filed in the Islamabad High Court against the rules by the opposition lawmakers. Yesterday, IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah continued hearing those petitions. Consequently, in its verdict, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) referred the social media rules to the National Assembly speaker for reviewing and to make required amendments to ensure freedom of speech and expression.

IHC Refers Social Media Rules to NA Speaker For Review

The controversial social media rules that were introduced through the Removal and Blocking of Unlawful Online Content Rules 2020 under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016, were immediately repudiated by a number of stakeholders such as the Internet Service Providers of Pakistan (ISPAK), Electronic & Print Media, General Public, and many more.

Farhatullah Babar, who is the leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party through his counsel Usama Khawar, filed a miscellaneous application in front of the court yesterday. It stated that the petitioners along with the citizens were entitled to the protection of law and enforcement of their fundamental rights regarding the freedom of expression and fair trial. According to the application,

As the principles of democracy are not based on dogmas, they do not accept the theory of absolutes in any sphere of polity and political life, therefore, the authors of the Constitution, by enumerating fundamental rights, apparently did so in the belief that the proper and rational synthesis of the provisions would lead to the establishment of an open and democratic society under the rule of law.

The challenged social media rules are blatantly in violation of fundamental rights, and the court has been asked to demolish them. Because the petitioner is a member of a coalition government, Justice Minallah believes it would be acceptable for the government to invite stakeholders and change the rules after due consultation. He suggested that the regulations should be made explicit and that there should be no possibility of rules being abused to limit freedom of expression.  Certain challenges regarding hate speech and other associated offenses should be kept in mind, Justice Minallah added.

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