DRF Submits Recommendations for Journalists Safety Bill

Digital Rights Foundation, along with Bolo Bhi, Media Matters for Democracy, and Network of Female Journalists for Digital Rights, submitted recommendations on Journalists Safety Bill to the Senate Standing Committee on Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage. The recommendations were a step by the civil society to urge lawmakers to take the online and offline safety of female journalists into account when drafting the new legislation.

The recommendations were accepted by the standing committee and were made part of the final draft of the bill. These recommendations can be accessed here.

DRF releases new report "Digital (in)Security of Journalists in Pakistan"

Digital Rights Foundation has launched its new report titled "Digital (in)security of Journalists in Pakistan" which explores the levels of digital threats that journalists face, records their experiences of online insecurity, and concludes what protections they desire from the journalists community, their respective media organisations, and the government.

The report points at the appalling condition of online harassment and the sense of discomfort that journalists face while being online because of their work. It finds that 78% of the respondents of the survey had experienced some form of online threat or harassment; 92% respondents think that online harassment is really common; 45.5% of them thought that online insecurity resulted in them self-censoring themselves; and 56% of them think that online insecurity is tied with their physical safety.

In the light of some really serious stats collected form the working journalists, the DRF has put forward some recommendations that the journalists can benefit from if they are implemented in the form of policies.

The Cyber Harassment Helpline Completes its One Year

As the Digital Rights Foundation’s Cyber Harassment Helpline completes its one year, the team compiles and releases its first one-year report. The report [PDF] contains data collected by the Helpline which highlights the nature and extent of the problem of online harassment. The Report also contains recommendations for public bodies to improve their institutional response to online harassment. Read more...

DRF Launches the Network of Female Journalists for Online Safety

Digital Rights Foundation marked the launch of their Network of Female Journalists on Online Safety on 12th December. The launch was coupled with a two-day advance training with 28 female journalists from across Pakistan.

The objective of the network is to empower female journalists to practice and promote online safety within media houses and to raise awareness regarding digital rights issues in mainstream media. Journalists were made aware about reporting on digital rights issues leading to improved quality of reporting when talking about the said rights.

The network will ensure quick and easy access to DRF’s Cyber Harassment Helpline to journalists and human rights defenders. The helpline is the first of its kind in Pakistan and provides legal advice, digital security support, and psychological counseling to the victims of cyber harassment.

DRF Presented at IGF 2017 in Geneva

Digital Rights Foundation is at the Twelfth Annual Internet Governance Forum (IGF) happening in Geneva, Switzerland from 18th to 21st of December, 2017. The dynamic get-together of diverse stakeholders will discuss pressing public policy issues related to the digital world. It allows all participants to share their experiences and debate, as equals, the opportunities and challenges arising from the process of digitization. Read the details of the interventions by DRF here.

Reviewing the Right to Privacy in Pakistan

Digital Rights Foundation (DRF) and Bolo Bhi organized the “Reviewing the Right to Privacy in Pakistan Roundtable” at the Islamabad Hotel, Islamabad on Thursday, December 7th, 2017.

The goal of the roundtable was to have a comprehensive and interactive discussion with relevant stakeholders about data protection and the right to privacy in Pakistan. International and national trends and developments in regards to digital rights, freedom of expression online, and data protection measures were discussed at the event.

The conference covered the themes of data protection and privacy on the internet within the Pakistani context through participatory sessions with participants. The first panel, titled “Data Protection and the Open Government Partnership Process”, was moderated by Nighat Dad, and shed light on the commitments made by the Ministry of Information Technology (MoIT), under the Open Government Partnership (OGP) process, to introduce a data protection law in Pakistan. The panelists included Ali Mohyuddin and Ebrar Rashid from NADRA, Arzak Khan, Saad Saleem, the co-founder of Nayatel, Imran Haider from FIA, Natalia Tariq from Open Society Foundations, Saleha Zahid from Bolo Bhi, and Jannat Ali Kalyar from DRF.

The second panel, titled “The Right to Privacy through Gendered Lens”, addressed the gendered nature of the right to privacy, with particular focus on the gendered experiences of this right. The panel, moderated by Zoya Rehman, brought together a diverse set of perspectives to discuss the variations as well as overlap of the gendered nature of the privacy discourse within Pakistan. The panelists, which included Khawar Mumtaz, chairperson of NCSW, Shmyla Khan of DRF, Mehlab Jameel, Fatima Anwar from Engage Foundation, and Dr. Safieh Shah, further discussed how privacy from a gender perspective is a vital part of the larger discourse on internet rights.

#HamaraInternetKyaHai: DRF launched its campaign for 16 Days of Activism on Violence Against Women

Digital Rights Foundation has been working on women's safe access to technology since it was founded in 2012, and we always try to keep our narrative unbiased and our conversations inclusive. Some of our team members were actively involved in the drafting of the Feminist Principles of the Internet also, and implement their learning and knowledge along with these principles in our projects in Pakistan that primarily involve advocating for a feminist internet, while promoting digital security and countering online gender based violence.

With this year's 16 Days of Activism on Violence Against Women, we decided to mainstream the feminist internet discourse in Pakistan - a topic that has not been highlighted all that much here - through the hashtag #HamaraInternetKyaHai (Urdu for What is Our Internet?). Our communications team strategised and executed the campaign keeping multiple approaches in mind, making sure people understand the narrative and engage in the conversation. And we're truly glad that they did take part in the conversation through various mediums, be it by comments and tweets on social media, or via expressing their interest directly to the DRF team members, or through the Cyber Harassment Helpline that we launched in 2016 and is accessible to people via toll-free number.

Here's the breakdown of the activities that we did as part of DRF's 16 Days of Activism:

- A colourful and catchy visual that depicts inclusivity

- Two Tweet Chats with DRF's team members, and wonderful feminists who advocate for a feminist internet in Pakistan. We've compiled these chats here in chronological order: https://www.scoop.it/t/16-days-of-activism-2017

- A blogpost on why does a feminist internet matter, by Fatima Athar:
https://digitalrightsfoundation.pk/why-does-a-feminist-internet-matter/

- A blogpost on how harassment hinders women's access to public spaces, both online and offline - by Hyra Basit: https://digitalrightsfoundation.pk/harassment-hinders-womens-access-to-public-and-online-spaces/

- We made this short and extremely powerful video depicting how women fall victim of a technological breach, and this is further used by the harassers to abuse victims and blackmail them into meeting more of their demands:

Facebook post: https://www.facebook.com/DigitalRightsFoundation/videos/976245469182682/

 

This video proved to be important in two ways in the context of Pakistan; a) a lot of people who reached out to us with a feedback on the campaign accepted that this video has helped them accept that it's not a woman's fault if someone bypasses technological loopholes and records them in their private space, where they're supposed to be feeling safe, and b) they understood that digital security is really important to be practiced. A lot of them also said that they covered their webcams after watching this video.

- And lastly, we launched completed our first year of the Cyber Harassment Helpline and released the one-year report based on our findings and experiences of operating a national level helpline that is also first of its kind. Access the report through this post: https://digitalrightsfoundation.pk/the-cyber-harassment-helpline-completes-one-year-of-its-operations/

Content Regulation in the Digital Age – DRF’s Submission to the Human Rights Council Report 2018

On December 20th, 2017, Digital Rights Foundation submitted its response to the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, for the upcoming study, “Content Regulation in the Digital Age” as part of the June 2018 Human Rights Council Report.

This submission is a precursor to DRF’s future plans to investigate the role of the private sector in regulating Pakistan’s online spaces, and sets the background for further advocacy revolving around online content regulation in Pakistan, while observing how this largely falls under the ambit of the government. Read more...

Consultation Meeting with Trust for Democratic Education and Accountability (TDEA)

Trust for democratic education and Accountability held an orientation consultation on Promoting the Human Rights And Electoral Participation of People with Disabilities (PWD), Transgender people and women in Pakistan on 12th till 14th of December 2017. The meeting brought together human rights defenders from all over the country to discuss inclusiveness in elections and the role of the civil society organizations.

DRF and TDEA Signed a Memorandum of Understanding

DRF and TDEA  signed an MOU to increase inclusiveness and capacities of people with disabilities (pwd), transgender people and women in the upcoming elections. DRF became one of the founding members of Coalition for Inclusive Pakistan (CIP).

Orientation Meeting with TDEA

DRF and TDEA conducted a small consultation meeting on 20th of December 2017 with women from diverse backgrounds to discuss about the importance of voting and the legal rights women have in Pakistan. Through the consultation women identified the problems they face while contesting for elections and voting and what needs to be done by the election commission and political parties to make the political environment better.

Session at the Punjab Revenue Authority

Representatives from DRF delivered an interactive session at the Punjab Revenue Authority (PRA) with their young interns on digital rights, online harassment and using the internet as a tool to hold government officials accountable. DRF also conducted interactive exercises to help students harass the internet for awareness-raising and dissemination of information.

Online Violence Against Women in Pakistan - Submission to UNSR on Violence Against Women

Digital Rights Foundation submitted its response to the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women. This report explores the laws and institutions that are in place within Pakistan to deal with issues of online violence against women. Facts and figures are used to gauge the extent of the problem and its nature, relying on data provided by the government, law enforcement agencies and collected by DRF. A legal analysis of the legislation ise accompanied by an appraisal of the implementation of the laws and the functioning of institutions on the ground. Reported judgments are analysed to gauge jurisprudence (interpretations of the laws) as well as legal principles developed by local courts. The purpose of the report is not only to analyse the existing structures, but to situate them within the lived experiences of women facing online violence. This experience is elucidated through case studies as well as analysis done by DRF’s cyber harassment helpline team.

We hope that this submission will provide a sufficient overview of the regulatory and social landscape in Pakistan with relation to online violence against women. The report can be accessed here.

On December 20th, 2017, Digital Rights Foundation submitted its response to the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, for the upcoming study, “Content Regulation in the Digital Age” as part of the June 2018 Human Rights Council Report.

This submission is a precursor to DRF’s future plans to investigate the role of the private sector in regulating Pakistan’s online spaces, and sets the background for further advocacy revolving around online content regulation in Pakistan, while observing how this largely falls under the ambit of the government. Private sector regulation of online content is at present a by-product of the state regulatory regime.

DRF’s submission details the laws and regulations established by the Pakistani government, which must be followed by ISPs and private companies. As with other nations of the Global South, the current political climate informs internet policy-making in Pakistan, with security concerns superseding fundamental human rights, in particular the rights of the general internet user and citizen. This is a situation that is exacerbated by the lack of substantial collaborations, if any, between the private sector, civil society and other relevant stakeholders, and the government.

What we are calling for through this submission, therefore, is a re-evaluation of the approach towards online content regulation by policy-makers in Pakistan, in order to uphold the right to freedom of expression -- as per the international human rights framework -- and ensure increased transparency and accountability on and for online platforms in Pakistan.

DRF examined the legislative framework that guides and underpins content regulation in Pakistan, and the problems associated with it, as can be encapsulated by the visible increase in internet censorship, takedowns and content filtration in Pakistan, as well as the prohibition of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) and encryption mechanisms. The submission further discusses the existing processes developed by companies, both overseas and locally, to ensure adherence to Pakistan’s current content regulation regime, including the role of telecommunications companies operating within the country.

What our findings demonstrate is that in recent years the Government of Pakistan has established a strict regulatory regime for online spaces under the auspices of an overarching and all-encompassing security narrative, with various state institutions intervening on special occasions and particular topics. Conditions set under Article 19 of the Constitution of Pakistan have been interpreted broadly to enact vague criminal laws with draconian penalties, with those overly broad interpretations seeping into the government’s approach to online spaces as well.

DRF’s submission can be found here, and we hope that other stakeholders will benefit from it as well.

Written by Zoya Rehman, Jannat Ali Kalyar and Adnan Ahmad Chaudhri

As the Digital Rights Foundation’s Cyber Harassment Helpline completes its one year, the team compiles and releases its first one-year report. The report [PDF] contains data collected by the Helpline which highlights the nature and extent of the problem of online harassment. The Report also contains recommendations for public bodies to improve their institutional response to online harassment.

The Cyber Harassment Helpline was launched on December 1, 2016 and is Pakistan’s first dedicated helpline addressing issues of online abuse and violence by providing a free, safe, gender-sensitive and confidential service. It provides legal advice, digital security support and psychological counselling to victims of online harassment. The toll free number [0800-39393] is available during 9am to 5pm.  Nighat Dad, the founder and Executive Director of DRF, explained that “the Helpline aims to fill the gaps of service delivery to complainants and victims of online harassment--to do what law enforcement and other organisations cannot--while paying special heed to gender-sensitivity and mental health."

This report marks the one-year milestone of the Helpline. During its first year, the Helpline has received 1,551 complaints in the form of calls, emails and Facebook messages from December 1, 2016 till November 30, 2017. The Helpline has so far received a total 1476 calls on its toll-free number. The Helpline was originally only operational on the weekdays, however in August, it was expanded to seven days a week to meet the needs of its callers. This has resulted in an increase in the average number of monthly calls from 82 in the first six months to 123 by November.

67% of the calls at the Helpline were by women, whereas 33% of the callers were men. Facebook remains the most widely reported platform, with 45% of callers experiencing harassment there. Among the kinds of harassment reported, complaints of fake profiles, non-consensual use of information, blackmailing, and unsolicited messages were the most common ones.

The Helpline has strict privacy and confidentiality policies in place, and only non-personally identifiable information is collected from our callers with informed consent. While 19% of the callers did not want to disclose their location, we were able to identify that most of our callers on the Helpline were from Punjab (50%). The Helpline also received calls from Sindh (18%), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (5%), Balochistan (2%), Azad Kashmir and FATA (1%) and the Federal Capital, Islamabad (5%).

Building on this data, the Digital Rights Foundation has put forward some recommendations for the government and law enforcement agencies to improve the reporting mechanism regarding cyber harassment. There is an urgent need to build the technical and financial capacity of the National Response Center for Cyber Crime (NR3C), FIA to deal with complaints in a timely and satisfactory manner. The Investigation Officers (IOs) and Prosecutors need to be trained in cyber crime law, internet governance, criminal procedure and trauma counselling. The FIA is also urged to fulfil its obligation under section 53 of the Prevention Electronic Crimes Act 2016 to submit reports to Parliament and ensure that this report is public. We recommend that the FIA forms a separate desk for addressing online harassment with female IOs and gender-sensitisation training. Lastly, the FIA is urged put in place case management and tracking systems to ensure an accessible complaint registration procedure and effective follow-up on cases.