A Report by IRADA Entails that Digital Media Freedom in Pakistan Remains Fragile
The report was entitled ‘Regulatory Repressions Amid Pandemic: State of Digital Media Freedoms in Pakistan 2021’ and it was released by the Institute for Research, Advocacy and Development (IRADA) on International Internet Day, which is observed on Oct 29. While Pakistan registered a little improvement in internet accessibility and use amid the global pandemic, the digital freedoms of media workers and internet users were intimidated by the government’s enforcement of controversial rules to regulate online content. According to the IRADA Executive Director Mohammad Aftab Alam, The report incorporates 5 areas concerning digital media freedoms. These include access, online freedoms, privacy, legal framework, and judicial actions. The reason for incorporating these areas is to develop a wide-ranging understanding of the impediments faced by journalists and citizens in the effective and ethical use of the internet. The report further entails that the Pakistani journalists were constantly victimized with abuse, harassment and coordinated campaigns on social media to insult and question their profession during 2020-21. The digital divide had a debilitating effect on women, religious minorities, and other marginalized groups during the pandemic. The report further said, Check out? MoiTT Issues Notification of Social Media Rules 2021
