Pakistan recently saw internet speeds drop by 40 percent and X (formerly Twitter) was banned for around six months as the crackdown on digital freedoms continues.
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As Pakistani courts begin hearing cases related to internet freedom, rights watchdogs have called on the government to be more transparent in its actions.
Pakistan has seen multiple internet crackdowns over the past year, social media platform X (formerly Twitter) was banned in China for about six months and internet speeds have slowed by about 40 percent in the past two weeks.
In this context, the Islamabad High Court is hearing a petition filed by journalist Hamid Mir over slow internet speeds across the country. The high court has issued notices to the federal government and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA). Earlier, the PTA had blamed the slowdown on faulty undersea cables and said no firewalls were in place.
Now, Amnesty International said in a statement that the lack of transparency regarding internet freedom in Pakistan is a cause for alarming concern. Calling for transparency in government decisions, the watchdog urged the Pakistani government to “be transparent about the causes of these internet disruptions and to refrain from implementing a surveillance system that is unnecessary, disproportionate and in violation of international human rights law.”
Pakistan: Pakistani authorities urged to be transparent about internet interference and surveillance techniques.Amnesty Tech Featured today:
“Pakistani authorities’ lack of transparency regarding their use of surveillance technologies to block, slow down and control content…— Amnesty International South Asia Regional Office (@amnestysasia) August 26, 2024
“The Pakistani government’s actions go against human rights.”
Amnesty International said the Pakistani government repeatedly and opaquely uses surveillance and monitoring technologies to block content, slow down and control the internet within the country.
“The use of such technologies, including national firewalls, has repeatedly proven to be incompatible with human rights. These pervasive tools undermine freedom of expression and access to information online,” the watchdog said.
PTA chairman, retired Major General Hafeezur Rehman, said the slowdown in internet speed had caused losses of around Rs 300 million, according to Dawn newspaper.
The paper reported that Pakistani businesses and internet service providers (ISPs) claim that government efforts to install so-called “firewalls” to monitor internet traffic have caused the slowdowns that are causing the losses.
