The 13 Criticism Of Cyber Crime Bill Passed In The National Assembly of Pakistan
The National Assembly (NA) passed the controversial Prevention of Electronic Crimes Bill (PECB) 2015 after the Senate's unanimous adoption of the bill – with 50 amendments – earlier in July. Focus of criticism :- Critics say the bill is too harsh, with punishments that do not fit crimes The bill's language leaves it open to abuse by LEAs, agencies, the government Recommendations of stakeholders were ignored in the formulation of the law It restricts freedom of expression and access to information The offences are too numerous, overlap with other existing laws The wording of the bill leaves many clauses open to interpretation The bill specifically can be misused to target journalists’ sources and whistleblowers Criteria for surveillance is even more open-ended than in the Fair Trial Act 2013 Mechanisms for implementation are missing from this bill The bill has introduced clauses on cyberterrorism, which is not the subject of the bill T