Social media firms are under fire globally, and Pakistan is no exception to that trend. Another version of rules to govern these firms has come to town. And it remains to be seen if it will stick around. The previous three versions, released over the past roughly two years, had courted controversy. While civil society had raised questions on legalese impacting freedom of speech, social media companies have raised alarm over provisions concerning liability, data localization, and local market incorporation.
Recall that earlier in March this year, the premier had constituted a high-level committee to swiftly resolve the impasse after consulting all stakeholders. Now, after many months of delay, finally the new social media – “Removal and Blocking of Unlawful Online Content (Procedure, Oversight and Safeguards) Rules, 2021” – have been reportedly notified. So, what is new in the latest version?
Notable among the major changes is the clear enunciation of how existing laws will be invoked in case there is content created or spread over social media platforms that falls foul of those laws. Another significant change is that the social media companies are no longer required to set up their offices in Pakistan within a set timeframe. The tech majors can establish a local office “as and when feasible”. However, social media companies are required to register with PTA within three months.
Similarly, the new rules have omitted previous requirement to establish database servers in...
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