*Karachi) Global technology firms have sought Prime Minister Imran Khan’ssupport to ensure that critical changes are made to the newly approvedsocial media rules, making it difficult for the companies to continue theirservices in Pakistan, Dawn reported.*

The new rules titled “Removal and Blocking of Unlawful Online Content(Procedure, Oversight and Safeguards) Rules 2020” have been published inofficial gazette under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016 (Peca).

In a 13-page letter by the Asia Internet Coalition (AIC), it called thegovernment to initiate a consultation process through which AIC members canprovide positive input and address crucial issues such asinternationally-recognised rights to individual expression and privacy.

The AIC stated that during meetings with AIC and its member companies, thePTA had committed to share a draft copy of the rules, but the rules wererecently updated by the Ministry of Information Technology andTelecommunication on its website.

It said the rules were finalised without explanation or due process andlacks credibility and transparency.

The AIC letter stated, “Industry stakeholders have therefore lost trust inthe consultation process, because it is neither credible nor transparent.”It added that instead of clarifying the scope of the powers given to thePTA, these rules created confusion for both users and online platforms inPakistan.

The tech giants, including Facebook and Google, maintained that largeportions of the rules were not only unworkable for global internetplatforms, but also went beyond the scope of the Parent Act (Peca 2016),putting their legality into question.