DRF established the Cyber Harassment Helpline in December 2016. The services we’ve offered since then include, legal support to online harassment victims as well as digital security assistance and also psychological counseling of victims. 

As Pakistan entered its lockdown in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, we feared there would be an increase in cyber-harassment cases as well as cyber attacks in general. To explore this possibility we analyzed the data from our Cyber Harassment Helpline from the months of March and April 2020 and compared it to the data from January and February 2020, to compare how cases have grown in the lockdown. Given that the pandemic became a public health emergency in Pakistan in March 2020, we feel that the comparison can reflect the changing patterns of online harassment and violation in relation to the social ramifications of COVID-19 This analysis is being released in the form of a policy brief and includes a list of recommendations for concerned stakeholders. 

As compared to January and February, March and April saw an increase of 189% in complaints registered with our Cyber Harassment Helpline. 74% of the cases in March and April were reported by women, 19% by men, and 5% by gender non-binary persons. When the lockdown was enforced in March, for the safety of our employees, we had to close our office as well as shut down our Helpline’s toll-free number. This massive bump in recorded complaints came through email and our social media. 

We have found that “the forms of gendered violence that are largely directed at women in the digital sphere usually include sexual harassment, surveillance, unauthorized use and dissemination of personal data, and manipulation of personal information including images and videos. This form of violence acts as a significant barrier to women’s expression of themselves as well as meaningful engagement with the internet. A majority of the cases that the Digital Rights Foundation’s cyber harassment helpline received digitally during lockdown (April and May) pertained to blackmailing through non-consensual sharing of information, intimate pictures and videos.” 

Alongside this data, we are also releasing a list of 14 recommendations for relevant stakeholders. These cover issues of the FIA’s accessibility especially during the pandemic, and also how technology needs to be used hand in hand while dealing with harassment cases, like allowing for video testimonies etc. 

During the pandemic, the cyber harassment helpline has been working hard to provide uninterrupted services to complainants of online harassment, while ensuring the safety and well-being of our staff. Early in the lockdown period, we switched exclusively to online platforms, however, we have restored the toll-free number through cooperation from the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority and PTCL.

Our full policy brief is attached to this email. For more information on this policy brief and on the work of our Cyber Harassment team, you can get in touch with them using this email: 

helpdesk@digitalrightsfoundation.pk 

Around the world, governments have taken to technology to stop the spread of COVID 19. The experiences and the success of this strategy differed in each area, however, it seems the world is in agreement- we need to employ technology to help with handling the novel coronavirus. Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea and China all used technology in their fight against the disease. They all used mobile apps in some form or the other, to track the movement of the disease and to find out who might have come into contact with a victim. These countries credit technology for helping them understand how the virus moved and where to implement harsh lockdowns and quarantines. As the virus has spread across the globe, more countries are seeing these applications as their way out and are beginning to adopt these technologies also.

The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication (MOITT) along with the National IT Board (NITB) recently launched an app called ‘COVID-19 Gov PK’. This application gives people up to date information about the spread of the novel Corona virus in Pakistan. However, the app has a feature that allows people to trace the disease, and allows the Government to track the trajectory by tracking the movement of its citizens. The app itself is based on a global trend towards using mobile applications for the mapping of the novel coronavirus.

(Image Source: Corona100M / CNN)

While countries the world over are engaging in health surveillance, we believe this is a problematic approach to the current situation given that such features are intruding on the privacy of citizens, as well as providing unfettered access to users' data. Contact tracing has been faced with backlash across the globe for its invasive approach to countering the spread of COVID 19.

While the situation concerning the virus is an emergency, it is still important for the Pakistani government to establish boundaries and limitations for its activities and be transparent, especially if they involve tracking the movements of its citizens and saving their health information on a mobile application. We would welcome the release of SOPs regarding how the data available on the app is being kept and processed.

Data related to an individual’s health is extremely private information, and it is information that affects not only them, but those whom they live with. This is extremely important to remember especially in such times, with a pandemic on our hands. Having sensitive information about where cases have been confirmed on a mobile application is dangerous as it puts families of victims at risk, as well as exposes their location and data regarding their health. The stigmatising of those with this particular disease has only made matters in this regard, worse.

Additionally, as the virus spreads, the Government needs documentation of confirmed cases, however, this information should only be collected as long as COVID 19 continues to be a threat to Pakistan. Some key elements here that would be comforting would be transparency in how patients’ data is being collected, as well as how it is being stored and lastly, what the data destruction policy, if any, is in this regard, as the Privacy Policy contained with the app is not very illuminating.

As people have moved towards remotely working and communicating, there has been a lot of activity online which has subsequently made cyber criminals and hackers more active. In light of this, the app does not address heightened concerns regarding the ‘security’ of the app and the personal data they are saving. In a White Paper, titled ‘Decentralized Privacy-Preserving Proximity Tracking’ (D3PT) (https://github.com/DP-3T/documents/blob/master/DP3T%20White%20Paper.pdf) , experts in the field highlighted that databases made about patients are at a high risk of being attacked and leaked. If intelligent decisions are not made about how this data is saved, attackers can access all the information, thereby affecting the patients themselves, as well as the doctors and scientists working against the spread of the virus.

In the same white paper, the experts explained how their databases should be constructed and maintained, as well as how the transmission of new data works. They gave two case scenarios to the construction of databases. One being a centralized database, and the other being a decentralized one. They made the case for a decentralized database since it offers a more stringent security policy and quicker response to any attempted data breaches.

Lastly, they talked about how the transmission of data works in such apps. COVID 19 tracking apps have a feature called the ‘Radius Map’. It tells the user if their immediate surroundings have had a reported case of the novel coronavirus. It does this by using bluetooth signals that bounce off of other users of similar apps. Because of this, specific locations of patients can be pinpointed to the average user. The White Paper does highlight this as a privacy concern. Additionally, they also highlight the fact that these signals can be manipulated by hackers to create false alerts of nearby COVID 19 patients, spreading panic in an already panicked situation.

We submit that the Government of Pakistan share their detailed SOPs regarding the COVID 19 app launched by them. These should detail their privacy policy in full, detailing data retention and destruction. Also, we maintain that the Government should share with the public as to who exactly has access to this database. While we appreciate that this is an unprecedented situation, the Government still must act in a manner that best protects its citizens' data and their right to privacy, a right enshrined in the very Constitution of Pakistan.

The COVID-19 has brought the world to a halt. The virus’ spread across the world has been rapid and has caused panic in almost all countries of the world, including Pakistan. While the gravity of the situation is definitely being felt in the medical field, we feel that the situation has implications on human rights, and these are implications we are simply not addressing.

With COVID-19, we’ve seen part of the fight against the disease being fought online. People across the globe are using the internet and social media to get information, to keep up to date and to track the spread of the virus. This dissemination and collection of data is unprecedented given how the digital world has grown since the last global pandemic.

Right To Privacy

Information and data regarding your Health is sensitive information. Health data is extremely personal and should only be in the hands of the individual. In situations as dire as these, it still needs to be ensured that this data is handled correctly and sensitively. In Pakistan, we are yet to enact a data protection bill, which is why it is important that ethics play a part in all fields. Details like who has tested positive, where they live and who their family are should not be leaked to the public. In times of such urgency, it is important for people to remember their rights to privacy and their right to not consent to their information being shared. 

A Rise In Racism, Xenophobia

When Pakistan confirmed its first two cases of the Coronavirus, it became public knowledge that one of the patients had recently traveled to Iran, and returned with the virus. This incited a lot of harassment against the family of the patient, moreover, a lot of people took to social media to target members of Shia sect. 

In addition to this, it has been internationally reported that there’s been a spike in racism against people who are Chinese or who hail from the Far East. Due to the CPEC project, Pakistan has been a huge influx of Chinese expats, and this trend is concerning as it could negatively affect these people’s quality of life.

Social media companies, along with the government and conventional media should work to tackle these issues and raise awareness about the disease, rather than let hatred for others take over the collective discourse.

Misinformation

Social media has been chaotic since the outbreak of the COVID-19. In the panic, people have been sharing unverified information continuously on social platforms, thereby only feeding the panic further. While the situation around the disease is of a high priority, this rampant spreading of misinformation has led to more fear and panic.It is this frantic level of misinformation that has made the WHO up their social media presence. 

In these circumstances it should be the top priority to social media companies to flag unverified information. Also they should work with the WHO and national level health agencies to spread verified information and up to date stats and data. In such circumstances, it is very easy to be swept up in panic, this panic is exaggerated on social media platforms and it is the responsibility of these companies to help control this panic.

Conventional Media 

Traditional media is equally responsible for the spread of misinformation. Media ethics and values need to play a crucial part in the reporting of this pandemic. Furthermore, stories revolving patients, their families and their treatment need to be dealt with with a lot of sensitivities, just as any other story is dealt with. 

Media regulatory bodies need to be super vigilant about the spread of misinformation as large portions of society still rely on conventional media for their information. Such a relaxed approach towards this issue can lead to hysteria and panic. The media should be used to raise awareness and give people the necessary information with which to tackle this disease.

Censorship

There have been reported incidents in both Iran and China of governments that have actively tried to suppress information about the virus getting out to the public. This is a dangerous development given that it is an attack on freedom of speech and is also an attempt to keep the public aloof of the severity of the issue at hand. Censorship is truly not the way for governments to deal with this situation. It must be tackled by collaboration, transparency and open communication. People should be able to trust their government, not doubt the information provided by them. 

The situation in Pakistan with regards to the Coronavirus is still developing. We, at Digital Rights Foundation, are keeping an eye out for the developments regarding the disease and also assessing how the digital rights sphere is being affected. We will keep posting updates as we get them.

Till then we advise all of you to take the necessary precautions against the virus.