Παγκόσμιες εταιρείες του διαδικτύου όπως το Facebook, Google, Twitter και άλλοι ενώθηκαν και απείλησαν να εγκαταλείψουν το Πακιστάν, αφού το έθνος της Νότιας Ασίας παραχώρησε γενικές εξουσίες στους τοπικούς ρυθμιστές για να λογοκρίνουν το ψηφιακό content.
Earlier this week, Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan gave the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority the power to remove and block digital content that "harms, intimidates or incites resentment" towards the government ή με άλλους τρόπους πλήττει την «ακεραιότητα, better safety and defense of Pakistan'.
Through a group called the Asia Internet Coalition (AIC), technology companies said they were "concerned" about the scope of Pakistan's new law targeting Internet companies. In addition to Facebook, Google and Twitter, AIC represents Apple, Amazon, LinkedIn, SAP, Expedia Group, Yahoo, Airbnb, Grab, Rakuten, Booking.com, Line and Cloudflare.
If the "something reminds you" story is because it is not the first time these technology companies have publicly expressed concerns about the new law, which was proposed in February this year.
After the Pakistani government made the proposal in February 2020, the group had threatened to leave, with the result that the Government of Pakistan retreated and promised an extensive and extensive process of consultation with civil society and technology companies.
As the AIC stated on Thursday, this consultation never took place, and reiterated that its members will not be able to operate in the country under current law.
"Draconian data tracking requirements will harm people's ability to access a free and opennetwork and they will shut off Pakistan's digital economy from the rest of the world. It is shocking to see the PTA's powers extended, allowing them to compel social media companies to breach established human rights rules on privacy and freedom of expression," the group said in a statement.
Και συνεχίζει: «Οι κανόνες θα καθιστούσαν εξαιρετικά δύσκολο για τα μέλη του AIC να κάνουν τις υπηρεσίες τους διαθέσιμες σε χρήστες του Πακιστάν και σε επιχειρήσεις. Εάν το Πακιστάν θέλει να είναι ένας ελκυστικός προορισμός για επενδύσεις τεχνολογίας και να πραγματοποιήσει τον στόχο του ψηφιακού μετασχηματισμού, καλούμε την κυβέρνηση να συνεργαστεί με τη βιομηχανία σε πρακτικούς, σαφείς κανόνες που προστατεύουν τα benefits του Διαδικτύου και διατηρούν τους ανθρώπους ασφαλείς.”
Under the new law, technology companies that do not remove or exclude illegal content from their platforms within 24 hours of notification by the Pakistani authorities also face a fine of up to $ 3,14 million. And like its neighbor, India, which has also proposed a similar regulation with little or no reaction, Pakistan also requires these companies to have local offices in the country.
The new rules come as Pakistan has cracked down on what it considers inappropriate content on Twitternetwork the last months. Earlier this year, it banned the popular mobile game PUBG Mobile and last month it temporarily blocked TikTok.
Countries such as Pakistan and India rank high on the scale of global use for technology companies. India, which has proposed several protectionist laws in recent years, has largely escaped any major protests from global technology companies because of its size. India is the largest market for Google and Facebook users. Pakistan on the other hand has about 75 million internet users.
