January 10, 2025 - Comments Off on NWJDR condemns the ongoing online harassment and gendered disinformation campaign against female journalist Asma Shirazi
10 January 2025, Pakistan: The Network of Women Journalists for Digital Rights (NWJDR) strongly condemns the ongoing relentless harassment and gendered disinformation campaign against senior female journalist Asma Shirazi by prominent political party supporters, and political commentators and vloggers.
This is not the first time Asma Shirazihas been targeted, and is the most recent in a disturbing trend of online harassment and tech-facilitated gender-based violence against female journalists that is becoming increasingly normalised. In 2020, 150 journalists issued a statement against the trolling of female journalists. The National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) took notice of this statement in 2022, demanding an update from the government which had not taken any action in two years. Shirazi, who has repeatedly been a target of gendered character assassination, won a two-year long case in the Islamabad High Court against ARY News and PEMRA in 2023, which involved a fabricated news story undermining her journalistic integrity. The court absolved her, and found her online and on-air character assassination to be baseless. Now, in January 2025, the situation is just as dire, and Shirazi is once again on the receiving end of an endless slew of abuse, hatred, accusations, and trolling by politically motivated and backed actors.
The continuation of such targeted campaigns not only places individual journalists' lives at risk, but also shrinks space for freedom of expression and press freedom as a whole. According to a recent report by the Digital Rights Foundation, at least 47 of 225 posts analysed across platforms during the 2024 Pakistan general elections targeted journalists covering the elections. These journalists “became vulnerable to online threats of physical assaults, organized trolling campaigns and gendered insults”. Platforms like X and Facebook have also failed to provide adequate recourse: a study by the International Centre for Journalists found that women journalists rated Facebook and X as the two least safe platforms, with 39% and 26% of respondents, respectively, expressing concerns. The research further revealed that nearly 73% of women journalists experience online violence.
The harassment and vile comments against Asma Shirazi are baseless and hinge upon character assassination by online trolls and political commentators with huge followings. NWJDR urges relevant authorities to take notice of Shirazi’s targeted harassment, as well as the growing trend of online harassment against female journalists. We urge political parties to take disciplinary action against those involved in the targeting of female journalists, and to formally dissociate from the actions of these trolls. The Ministry of Human Rights and the NCHR must also take action and develop a strategy for addressing such gendered attacks and campaigns against women journalists and women public figures.
These targeted disinformation and harassment campaigns cannot become the norm. Every time female journalists face gendered harassment, NWJDR will continue to raise its voice and assist survivors in finding avenues to justice.
January 9, 2025 - Comments Off on December 2024 Newsletter: DRF Executive Director Nighat Dad’s interview with WIRED
Our Executive Director Nighat Dad was interviewed by WIRED magazine. The feature traced her journey from escaping an abusive marriage to becoming a vocal advocate for women’s social and digital rights, and founding the Digital Rights Foundation (DRF). The feature was also covered in WIRED’s weekly wrap! Read the interview here.
Policy Initiatives:
Platforms at the Polls
DRF released a report analyzing platform accountability during Pakistan’s 2024 general elections, focusing on how social media platforms have increasingly become critical tools for political parties in order to influence and win over voters. Analyzing 225 social media posts depicting technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV) and gendered disinformation against electoral candidates, activists and journalists, it became evident that platforms failed to actively remove harmful content or regulate political spending by parties. Our complete report is available here.
Campaign on 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence and Human Rights Day
DRF’s 16 Days of Activism campaign continued with more #StayCybersafe daily tips. Our series envisioning what Pakistan would look like free from gender-based violence also continued. The campaign finally culminated on 10 December with an online panel discussion titled ‘Achieving Gender Justice & Digital Equity in Pakistan post Beijing+30’. The panelists were National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW) standing chair Ume Laila Azhar, former NCSW chair Khawar Mumtaz, Global Network of Women Peacebuilders senior programs officer Sophia Dianne Garcia, and DRF programs lead Seerat Khan. Watch the livestream recording of the event here.
Campaign on International Day for Minorities
To mark International Day for Minorities (18 December), DRF reshared its policy brief titled ‘Countering Online Misinformation Against Religious Minorities in Pakistan’. DRF called for safer, inclusive digital spaces through collective effort from state authorities, platforms and civil society. Read the brief here.
Blog post on Platform Accountability
DRF team member Sara Imran wrote a blog post analyzing the recent crackdown on data scraping by X and other platforms. The piece highlighted the impact of such restrictions on academic research that relies on publicly available data, and concluded that “blanket bans on data scraping are not a one-size-fits-all solution”. Read the blog post here.
Press Coverage:
Nighat Dad in AP News
In AP News’ piece on how deepfakes have been weaponized against Pakistan’s women leaders, DRF Executive Director pointed out that Pakistan’s laws related to online safety have also been used to block sites as “a quick solution for the government... violating other fundamental rights". Read the article here.
DRF in Index on Censorship’s article
DRF team members Anam Baloch and Seerat Khan highlighted the impact of increasing Internet restrictions in Index on Censorship's article on increasing censorship in Pakistan. Read the article here.
DRF in Kashmir Express News segment
DRF team member Aneeqa Shahid appeared on Kashmir Express News to explain to viewers how they can protect themselves from scammers online, particularly in light of the HEC scam which led to financial loss and stealing of WhatsApp accounts. Watch the segment here.
Nighat Dad on the Digital Nation Pakistan bill
In a Samaa TV news segment on the digitization of Pakistan via the Digital Nation Pakistan Bill, DRF Executive Director Nighat Dad weighed in and emphasized that personal data protection legislation is imperative. Watch the entire segment here.
Nighat Dad talks about Internet outages in Pakistan
DRF Executive Director Nighat Dad told Geo News how Internet disruptions not only deny access to information, but are “also economically costly and damage Pakistan's reputation as a reliable player in the global IT industry". Read what she recommends to improve Pakistan's digital future in the article here.
Nighat Dad at SAMAAJ Seminar on Preventing Child Sexual Abuse
DRF Executive Director Nighat Dad contributed to a discussion on preventing child sexual abuse in Pakistan on 30 December. The event titled “Beyond Silence and Shame: Preventing Child Sexual Abuse in Pakistan” was organized by SAMAAJ in partnership with the German Embassy. She also spoke on the topic to VoicePK and Lahore News, underscoring the need to increase digital safeguards for children and ensure safer online spaces.
DRF was also featured in the following press coverage:
DRF, the Ministry of Human Rights, Meta, the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR), and the National Commission on the Rights of the Child jointly hosted a roundtable on online youth safety in Islamabad, launching a comprehensive Youth Safety Policy Document with actionable recommendations for policymakers, educators, and tech platforms. DRF’s Seerat Khan shared findings from focus group discussions and surveys with parents and youth across the country. Meta showcased its safety tools. The discussion underscored the importance of collaboration to create inclusive and secure digital environments for young users.
Meeting with Rana Mashood on Collaboration with PM Youth Programme
DRF representatives met with Rana Mashood and his team to explore potential collaboration opportunities under the PM Youth Programme. Key discussions focused on expanding DRF initiatives, such as the Hamara Internet project and Digital Literacy Bootcamp, to the national level with the PM Office’s support. Both teams emphasized the importance of collective effort, particularly in addressing issues like personal data protection, digital scams, and enhancing youth-focused digital literacy. Future plans include joint awareness initiatives, sharing educational content, and participation in conferences.
Meta Community Summit 2024
DRF Program Lead Seerat Khan and Program Manager Anam Baloch participated in the Meta Community Summit 2024, a platform dedicated to fostering dialogue with civil society partners. The summit focused on social media best practices, online safety, and freedom of expression, underscoring Meta's commitment to cultivating a safe and open online environment in Pakistan.
Embassy of the Kingdom of Netherlands’ “Panel Discussion Voices for Change” and UN Women Pakistan’s “Theater on Wheels”
DRF attended and participated in these events held to mark the global 16 Days of Activism campaign. UN Women Pakistan’s "Theatre on Wheels" took place in Islamabad on 10-11 December, and aimed to strengthen civil society engagement to promote gender equality vis-a-vis the Beijing+30 goals. Representing civil society, DRF team member Irum Shujah shared her learnings and experiences from attending Beijing+30. DRF also attended the panel discussion "Voices for Change: Youth Perspectives on Challenges and Opportunities" hosted by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The discussion explored the challenges faced by Pakistani youth, particularly women and girls, and highlighted opportunities for their empowerment.
Other events:
DRF Communications Manager Maheen Rasheed attended a national conference titled "Inspiring Change & Empowering Humanity" Conference: Advancing Human Rights for All”, co-organized by the Khawaja Sira Society and the National Commission for Human Rights, on 2 December.
DRF’s Legal Associate participated in Justice Project Pakistan’s consultation in Lahore with Ms. Christine Chung (UN OHCHR) on 5 December. Participants discussed the next steps for civil society engagement after Pakistan's ICCPR treaty body review.
On 10-11 December, representatives from the American Institute of Pakistan Studies (AIPS) visited DRF to discuss the ongoing Digital Literacy and Citizenship Bootcamp programme.
DRF conducted a session on navigating online safety in journalism at the Sahafi Summit conference, hosted by Media Matters for Democracy (MMfD) in partnership with the Association of Media and Communication Academic Professionals (AMCAP), at the Beaconhouse National University on 11 December.
On 20 December, DRF team member Anmol Sajjad delivered an engaging virtual session on online fraud with Suno FM Radio (89.4-96). Nearly 30 callers asked questions about online fraud. Listen to the session here.
DRF held a two-day digital skills training workshop on 30-31 December in Peshawar. This workshop provided training on essential digital safety practices, addressing legal challenges, reporting online hateful content and using open-source tools.
Tech trends and tips:
New tech and platform developments:
VPN Bans (or not): A new controversial scheme was introduced to allow local companies to provide “approved”, localised VPNs after paying for a 15-year license. The rescinding of the ban has not stopped the government from seeking to criminalise VPNs and other forms of proxy software either.
Fake News: The government declared the creation of a “fake news” task force to “identify individuals/groups and organisations involved in creating and spreading fake and misleading news surrounding political miscreants in Islamabad from Nov 24-27, 2024, including entire media campaign (sic) related to the issue.”
PECA Amendments: Amendments to PECA were tabled that would create the Digital Rights Protection Authority (DRPA) for prosecuting the sharing or accessing of prohibited content. More legal cover to block devices, such as VPNs would also be given.
Digital Nation Pakistan: The Digital Nation Pakistan Bill (DNPB) calls for the centralisation of citizen data to create a unified “digital identity”. Two government authorities – the National Digital Commission, and the Pakistan Digital Authority - would be created to develop the “required policy, provide governance and ensure necessary coordination”.
Digital “Bill of Rights”: PPP co-leader Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari called for the creation of a digital “bill of rights”, drafted and contributed towards by Pakistani youth, which he declared would be presented in the National Assembly.
Tip of the month:Secure communication channels
Many messenger or email apps may be susceptible to interception and eavesdropping. To select a secure communication channel, one should consider the following:
Is your app open or closed source: In closed source apps, the source code is not made public, so there is no guarantee regarding its safety. In open source apps, the source code is publicly available for external security audits, which is why these apps are considered more secure. Basic versions of such apps are usually free unlike proprietary applications.
Does your app support end-to-end encryption (E2E): E2E means that messages are encrypted from sender to receiver, and the chat(messages) cannot be overhead or tampered with. One must take into account that all conversation should be end-to-end encrypted.
DRF Resources:
Cyber Harassment Helpline:
The Cyber Harassment Helpline received 237 complaints in December 2024, of which 82% were related to cyber harassment. The helpline also celebrated 8 years since its inception this month by sharing a case where the helpline team helped take down sensitive pictures of a complainant from social media platforms. Click here to listen to the story.
If you’re encountering a problem online, you can reach out to our helpline at 0800-39393, email us at [email protected] or reach out to us on our social media accounts. We’re available for assistance from 9 am to 5 pm, Monday to Sunday.
IWF Portal
DRF in collaboration with Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) and the Global Fund to End Violence Against Children launched a portal to combat children’s online safety in Pakistan. The new portal allows internet users in Pakistan to anonymously report child sexual abuse material in three different languages- English, Urdu, and Pashto.
Meta along with Revenge Porn Helpline (RPH) has launched a portal to support victims of Non-Consensual Intimate Image Abuse (NCII). NCII is a free portal for reporting cases of sensitive or sexual content existing online. Once you report a case, the necessary steps will be taken to block the images from the platform.
Frequent internet shutdowns and disruptions are causing severe economic losses for
Pakistan, and the government must now roll out 5G to tackle this crisis, according to
Pakistan’s IT industry. As the independent VPN review website TopVPN observed in their
report on the economic impacts of global internet shutdowns, Pakistan was the most
severely impacted, suffering a US$1.62 billion hit to the economy, and with 82.9 million
users being affected. Coupled with statements made by the head of P@SHA last month
claiming that Pakistan risks facing yearly financial losses up to US$150 million, the IT
industry has called for the rollout of 5G to be sped up, through a March 2025 spectrum
auction. The head of P@SHA has also pushed for new undersea cables to be installed, and
for cell towers to be enhance for fibre-optic capabilities.
January 6, 2025 - Comments Off on Starlink “waiting for approval from the government”: Musk
Hashtag(s): #Internet, #ElonMusk, #InternetAccess.
Starlink, the satellite internet network owned by Elon Musk, could be coming to Pakistan,
according to an X/Twitter conversation between Musk and a Pakistani X user, and which
has been picked up by Pakistani news outlets. When asked by the X user over the weekend
to bring Starlink to Pakistan, Musk replied, via his own account, that “We are awaiting for
approval from the government”. This appears to be borne out by IT Minister Shaza Fatima,
who responded, when asked by journalists at Starlink, that “It is registered, and the
licensing is in process.”
Given frequent internet shutdowns, as well as ongoing issues with internet infrastructure
in Pakistan, calls for Starlink to come to Pakistan, as a means of bypassing these issues, are
on the surface understandable. Starlink, however, has proven to be controversial, with
access in Ukraine being temporarily halted for political reasons, as well as in Gaza.
January 4, 2025 - Comments Off on Underwater Cables Reason for Internet Slowdown: IT Minister
International submarine cables are responsible for slow internet speeds over the weekend,
and this is being rectified, according to IT Minister Shaza Fatima. According to IT Minister
Fatima and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, the submarine cable known as
Asia-Africa-Europe 1 (or AAE-1) suffered a fault around Qatar, that caused a severe
degradation in the quality and speed of internet access in Pakistan. According the Minister
and the PTA, “the issue of degradation of Internet services due to fault in AAE1 submarine
cable on January 2, 2025 ad hoc bandwidth has been arranged and added in the system”.
According to additional reports, a new underwater cable is being laid that will provide
more stable internet connections, via system called the “2Africa Submarine Cable”, backed
by a consortium that includes Meta, China Mobile and the Saudi Telecom Company. The
Minister and PTA did not address earlier internet disruptions, however, which have been
attributed by rights groups to the development of the internet “firewall” or Web
Management System.
January 4, 2025 - Comments Off on Internet Shutdowns Cost Pakistan US$1.62 Billion: Report
Hashtag(s): #InternetShutdowns, #KeepItOn,
Internet shutdowns over the course of 2024 has cost the Pakistani economy US$1.62
billion, according to a report by TopVPN, an independent VPN review website. According
to TopVPN, government-mandated internet shutdowns in 2024 resulted in a global
economic cost of US$7.69 billion, of which Pakistan was the most severely impacted,
followed by Myanmar (US$ 1.58 billion) and Sudan (US$1.12 billion). This is a drastic
increase from 2023, where the total cost to Pakistan was US$237.6 million, according to
TopVPN’s report for 2023. In additional to the economic cost, the TopVPN estimates that
82.9 million users in Pakistan were negatively affected over the course of 2024.
According to the report, 82.9 million internet users in Pakistan were impacted by the
shutdowns, with “Peaceful Protest” and “Free & Fair Elections”, two other benchmarks,
were also impacted, as can be confirmed by the ongoing ban on X (Formerly Twitter). The
report also highlighted that social media platforms, X in particular, were a key target of
internet shutdowns in 2024, worldwide.
TopVPN calculated the economic costs of internet shutdowns by “using the Netblocks Cost
of Shutdown Tool, which is based on the Brookings Institution method, with CIPESA’s
specialized model used for sub-Saharan Africa. Regional shutdown costs are derived
from the region’s economic output as a proportion of national GDP.”
January 1, 2025 - Comments Off on 2 VPN Providers have registered with PTA
Contrary to reports circulating at the end of 2024, the PTA has reported that two VPN
service providers have applied for VPN licenses in Pakistan, as part of the government’s
“localised” VPN scheme, with their applications under review. The PTA was unable to ban
unregistered VPNs after the Ministry of Law issued a legal opinion stating that the PECA’s
articles on social media did not cover “tools” used to access said platforms, and introduced
localised VPN registration as a means of bypassing this issue. Promoted as a means of
striking a “balance” between cybersecurity and privacy, rights organisations and citizens
have relayed concerns that “localised” VPNs, with user data stored in Pakistan, runs the
risk of giving PTA and the government more powers to monitor users, negating the basis
for VPN usage in the first place, particularly if sensitive information is being shared.
December 24, 2024 - Comments Off on Bilawal advocate “bill of rights” for digital age
It is time to draft a “digital bill of rights”, said PPP leader Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, in an attempt to create further space between him and the government regarding the latter’s controversial direction regarding VPNs and internet disruptions in recent months.
Though he agreed that security measures should be taken to tackle disinformation and misinformation, Bhutto-Zardari said that “babus and politicians sitting in Islamabad do not understand” the internet, and that the government was seeking to control people “in the shape [of controlling] bandwidth, optical fibre and wireless internet.”
Calling upon young people to contribute to and develop a draft “bill of rights”, Bhutto-Zardari said that he would table the draft in the National Assembly once the draft had been prepared through a consultative process.
“I will believe access to the internet should be declared a fundamental right, like [the right to a clean] environment was declared a fundamental right in the 26th amendment. Affordable, equitable access to high speed internet should be a fundamental right,” said Bhutto-Zardari.
December 24, 2024 - Comments Off on Govt Introduces new localised VPN Scheme
Unsuccessful in its previous attempts to register and penalise unregistered VPNs, owing to a lack of legal support, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has introduced a new licensing category, in the hope that it will boot registrations of VPNs. According to Dawn, a press release by the PTA states that “VPN service providers are required to obtain Class Licence for Data (Data Services) to provide VPN and related services,” so that local internet service providers will, in theory, be able to provide VPN and other forms of proxy services to their users.
The “localised” registrations of VPNs was floated by P@SHA, arguing that this would help Pakistan’s freelancers, impacted ongoing internet disruptions. Companies that plan to provide localised VPN services would pay PTA a licence fee – PKR 300,000 to offer nationwide services, PKR 100,000 to do within one province – with the licence lasting 15 years, subject to renewal. As rights activists and tech experts point out, however, the localisation strategy is a “futile exercise”, as it gives more surveillance powers to authorities and negates the whole purpose of VPNs – which could discourage users and international entities, both of whom would just switch to other options.
December 23, 2024 - Comments Off on Bilawal criticises internet restrictions, advocates for digital rights amid government tensions
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari criticised recent internet slowdowns and restrictions this Monday, describing them as efforts to control and censor citizens. Users have reported sluggish speeds and difficulties accessing platforms, which digital analysts attribute to government testing of a ‘firewall’ capable of monitoring and blocking content. The government claims these measures are part of a 'web management system' upgrade for enhanced cybersecurity. This issue has intensified tensions between the PPP and the federal government, with senior PPP officials expressing a lack of confidence in the government's actions. Addressing a convocation at Sindh University, Bilawal emphasised the need for a "digital bill of rights" to ensure equitable access to high-speed internet, labeling it a fundamental human right. He urged youth involvement in drafting this bill to safeguard digital freedoms and counter misinformation.
His comments echo concerns raised by PPP members of the National Assembly (MNAs) on December 18th, regarding the impact of internet disruptions and the firewall on Pakistani citizens.
