Social media access

The government is reportedly mulling over a ban on social media access in government offices, fearing that the related websites and apps could lead to leaks of important data. But members of the National Assembly panel hearing the proposal quickly pointed out that the move could well be a ploy to curb freedom of speech. It could make it harder for honest officials to let the world know of the misdeeds of elected and unelected officials and the misuse of our taxes. The truth is that whistleblowers are essential to keep government corruption in check.

Many social media chat engines are encrypted, making them difficult to hack or trace, allowing upstanding government servants to use them to leak information when they deem it necessary. A local alternative, especially one developed with cooperation from the government, would invariably have a ‘backdoor access key’ that the government could use to snoop on employees and citizens alike. This would discourage whistleblowing and even allow unscrupulous officials to spy on the private discussions of various people. Meanwhile, many government departments and officers still use WhatsApp, Gmail, and other free services instead of their official email accounts. This is a much greater security threat as there is no track of ostensibly above board official correspondence as these servers are not under the control of the Pakistani government.

If the government were truly concerned about data leaks, criminalising the use of private emails for public business would be a more acceptable starting point. As for the government’s claim to be working to stop fake news on social media, it is clear that their last effort, a Twitter account called “FakeNewsBusterMoIB”, focuses mostly on protecting the government, and worryingly often, discrediting frivolous tabloid reporting about Prime Minister Imran Khan’s personal life. The government also wants to start releasing “authentic government news” on social media. Why not let the existing public and private news media handle this role? Because when media outlets deemed reliable by the government later issue authentic reports which make the ruling party look bad, it would be harder to call them ‘fake news’, thus placing the government in a bind.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 23^rd, 2019.

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