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September 25, 2025 - Comments Off on NCCIA registers FIR against YouTuber Rajab Butt for promotion of illegal gambling 

NCCIA registers FIR against YouTuber Rajab Butt for promotion of illegal gambling 

In a case similar to fellow vlogger “Ducky Bhai”, Rajab Butt is being investigated for promoting and profiting from illegal gambling applications such as 1xBet, Bet 365, and Binomo. He was accused of being the brand ambassador for Binomo, and has also been called out for defrauding his audience by advertising these platforms. The NCCIA claims that Rajab Butt was summoned to present his defence but he failed to show up. Now, he is under investigation under Section 13 (Electronic Forgery), 14 (Electronic Fraud), 25 (Scamming), and 26 (Spoofing) of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes (PECA) Act. This is not Rajab’s first run-in with potential legal troubles. In 2024, he was booked under Blasphemy and PECA Laws over the name of his perfume brand “295”.

September 25, 2025 - Comments Off on Meta to expand “teen accounts” to Pakistani users

Meta to expand “teen accounts” to Pakistani users

Meta has announced its intentions to expand “teen accounts” to Facebook and Messenger applications around the world. This feature was introduced last year and introduced safeguards that could limit content accessed by young users of the application. This is done by limiting accounts a teen account can interact with and filtering content. Meta has justified these new features as catering to parental concerns over unchecked and unsupervised teen access to content on social media. However, despite these concerns being prioritized in the area of content moderation, reports have surfaced criticizing Meta’s AI features of having extremely problematic and sensual conversations with young users. It remains to be seen whether content moderation and regulations apply to Meta’s rapidly expanding AI systems.

September 25, 2025 - Comments Off on Teen found guilty of murdering family under the influence of an online video game

Teen found guilty of murdering family under the influence of an online video game

Recently, the Additional District & Sessions Judge Riaz Ahmad in Lahore announced a guilty verdict against Ali Zain, a 14 year-old boy who opened fire on his family and killed four family members. According to the State Prosecutor, Ali was addicted to “PUBG”, an online shooting video game, and committed the crime allegedly under the influence of his exposure to daily violence because of this game. According to the police, Ali’s aggression usually spiked due to a failure to complete game targets, and a similar situation unfolded on the day of the killings. In the judge's rulings, the influence of this game has been listed as the official reason behind this horrific crime. However, an Islamabad-based psychologist has questioned the official ruling, pointing to underlying mental health conditions.

September 25, 2025 - Comments Off on Pakistan warns against militarization of AI, calls for UN regulation

Pakistan warns against militarization of AI, calls for UN regulation

Countries in the Global South have issued repeated warnings against the unchecked deployment of AI systems, with Pakistan recently calling for strict UN regulation closing off avenues for AI to be used as a “tool for coercion”. Defence Minister Khwaja Asif, speaking at a high-level AI debate on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session in New York, warned against patterns of AI misuse being accelerated by technological monopolies and lack of regulation. While noting the transformative potential of AI technologies, he noted the adverse risks of AI deepening inequalities and destabilizing the international order through unchecked deployment in disinformation, offensive cyber-operations, and new types of military technologies.

The Defence Minister also made reference to the India-Pakistan Conflict, noting that “autonomous munitions” were potentially used by one side during the military exchange. The debate stressed the primacy of human judgement and oversight in AI systems, and the absolute necessity of managing AI to further the cause of mutual peace and harmony.

September 25, 2025 - Comments Off on FBR finalizing taxation policy for TikTok Content Creators

FBR finalizing taxation policy for TikTok Content Creators

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) informed the Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue that they’re in the final stage of drafting a taxation plan to be imposed on income earned by TikTok content creators. Senator Faisal Vawda argued that tax enforcement should start with Punjab since a significant portion of revenue is generated by Punjab-based TikTokers. While social media content creators have been viewed as a lucrative source of taxable revenue for the FBR, attention has surged following an investigation by the FBR into disproportionate filings by select celebrities and social media influencers. A Lifestyle Monitoring Cell has also been set up to monitor and scour through various social media applications to check for celebrities, influencers, and content creators who display excessive wealth without a proportionate contribution to their income.

September 24, 2025 - Comments Off on IT Minister Shaza Fatima advertises 5G rollout amid prolonged internet connectivity issues

IT Minister Shaza Fatima advertises 5G rollout amid prolonged internet connectivity issues

Speaking at the inaugural speech for the 26th ITCN Asia Expo in Karachi, IT Minister Shaza Fatima reiterated the government’s commitment towards 5G internet rollout. Touting it as a significant step forward towards improving internet connectivity and performance speeds across the country, she attributed present connectivity slowdowns to technical issues caused by damages to submarine cables in the Red Sea. The IT minister stressed Pakistan’s efforts in expanding their submarine cable capacity to ensure more reliable internet services, and identified this sector as being pivotal to the recent Pak-Saudi Defence Agreement- though few details were provided to support these statements. Lastly, she commended the government’s sustained efforts to ensure progress towards digitization and a “cashless economy”, identifying the National AI Policy and expansion in digital banking services as evidence of this progress.

September 23, 2025 - Comments Off on Imran Khan’s lawyers boycott court proceedings due to internet connectivity issues

Imran Khan’s lawyers boycott court proceedings due to internet connectivity issues

Imran Khan’s Lawyers Salman Akram Raja and Faisal Malik boycotted court proceedings due to connectivity issues which were preventing transparent communication between the PTI founder and court personnel. These hearings concerned Imran Khan’s role in fuelling the violence that unfolded on 9 May, involving violent protests that targeted state and military installations.

A plea for Imran’s in-person appearance in court was dismissed last week, but Judge Amjad Ali Shah allowed his lawyers to communicate with the accused via WhatsApp Call during the proceedings. However, due to internet connectivity issues and a weak link, neither side could properly communicate with one another. According to Salman Akram Raja, though the court recorded multiple witness statements from individuals in the PTA and FIA, the defendants rejected these statements as Imran could not hear what was being said in court. Lastly, the Judge denied the lawyers permission to privately call Imran Khan, further motivating the eventual boycott.

September 23, 2025 - Comments Off on PTCL-Telenor merger to be finalized in the coming weeks after numerous delays

PTCL-Telenor merger to be finalized in the coming weeks after numerous delays

In a recent presentation to the Senate Standing Committee on IT and Telecommunications, the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) Chairman revealed how this long anticipated merger has been subject to numerous delays owing to complexities emerging from PTCL’s management. They warned of anti-competitive practices by the PTCL, raising suspicions of its abuse of market power overriding potential efficiency gains. 

In this session, other pertinent issues of data security and internet connectivity were also discussed. Senator Afnan Ullah revealed that stolen data worth over $65 billion is circulating the dark web, and this includes data stolen from over 300,000 Hajj applicants. Even the PTA chairman confirmed SIM data, including his own, has been available on public forums on the Dark Web. The lack of sufficient data protection legislation was pointed as the root cause for frequent security breaches and privacy violations.

September 22, 2025 - Comments Off on Court issues non-bailable arrest warrants lawyer Imaan Mazari over controversial tweets

Court issues non-bailable arrest warrants lawyer Imaan Mazari over controversial tweets

Prominent lawyer and activist Imaan Mazari has been a subject of significant mainstream discussion over her confrontations with state entities. The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) filed an FIR against Mazari and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, alleging them of posting “anti-state” content on their social media accounts. Mazari’s posts questioning enforced disappearances in Balochistan and accusations against the armed forces for failing to eliminate militancy in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were seen as inciting “provincial hatred” and as discrediting state institutions. This Monday, the Additional District and Sessions Judge Islamabad, Afzal Majoka, directed authorities to arrest Mazari and her husband for failing to appear before the courts.  

September 22, 2025 - Comments Off on Court hands 6 Year Prison sentence to man who used Fake Facebook Profiles to Blackmail Woman

Court hands 6 Year Prison sentence to man who used Fake Facebook Profiles to Blackmail Woman

The Judicial Magistrate (East) has found defendant Abdullah Saleem guilty of offences under Section 20, 21, and 24 of Pakistan’s Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA). Complaints brought to the court found this individual, based in Karachi, had been creating fake Facebook accounts with the intent of blackmailing and exacting revenge on a woman who rejected his proposal for marriage. He had been using these social media accounts to transmit pictures of this woman to random users in order to tarnish her reputation. The courts found substantial evidence from the prosecution to assess that the perpetrators action amounted to a violation of dignity, modesty, and a dangerous example of cyberharassment. Complainant testimonies were corroborated by confiscating the defendants phone, and by verifying chat records, screenshots, WhatsApp records, and detailed forensic reports.