PML-N, PPP Agree On PECA Amendments

Two of Pakistan’s ruling parties, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), have come together on amending the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), despite disagreements especially with regards to social media control – a controversial point of contention and penalties. As per proposed legislation under this agreement, social media usage will be regulated via a new government authority to be established.

The new authority will have the responsibility of determining what constitutes disinformation or “fake news”, and will have the power to impose penalties for disseminating disinformation – a maximum of three years in prison, and fines. The length of the sentence was one of the key points that the PPP and PML-N strongly disagreed upon, as the latter had originally proposed sentence of ten years. The new authority will have powers similar to, according to ARY News, “the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), and the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA).”