X becomes govt's first target

Experts term social media blackout an attempt to impede free flow of information

ISLAMABAD/KARACHI:

Social media giant X, formerly Twitter, often becomes the first casualty when the government fails to handle criticism in Pakistan.

Once again, amid political, economic and security challenges coupled with rigging allegations arising out of February 8 elections, the government’s fear of dissent forced it to take X as a threat and shut it down without giving any reasons.

It’s not the only one, as other social media applications, cellular services and internet frequently face blackout, leaving from the president to experts and media to common man to question the unannounced disruption and dub it an attempt to silent dissent.

“The blockage of social media websites in Pakistan was due to the lack of intellectual capacity to handle criticism,” President Dr Arif Alvi said on Monday in remarks, which came on the heels of X’s nation-wide disruption for the last three days as noted by Netblocks — a global internet monitor.

The more insulting moment was when the caretaker IT Minister Umar Saif, while apparently using a proxy service – VPN – proudly posted on X that “Pakistan’s IT industry is taking off…” when X was down in Pakistan.

“It appears that the caretaker government intends to limit free flow of information regarding the 2024 elections,” said Jibran Nasir, a renowned lawyer and civil rights activist. “And by doing so [it] is making the election results more controversial than they already are.”

Nighat Dad, a lawyer and the executive director of the Digital Rights Foundation (DRF), said that suspending any social media platform was against the fundamental rights enshrined in Article 19 [about freedom of speech, etc] and 19-A [about right to information] of the Constitution.

Also, the eminent expert said, hindering and violating access to any platform or access to information was against the international commitments, especially the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the international human rights frameworks.

“What is more worrying is that there is complete silence and lack of transparency by the regulator,” Dad said, adding that it was unclear what laws or frameworks were the authorities concerned following to suspend X or other social media platforms. “Disruption sends a message of uncertainty,” she added.

While listing down the possible reasons behind the government’s decision to black out X and other apps, Dad said that the purpose was to curtail certain speeches, suppress voices and stop people from discussing and debating “rigging”.

Dad emphasised that security threats and massive disinformation at a time when people were charged and biased and ready to believe anything, including AI or synthetic media content, could be other reasons to block a social media site(s).

However, she said, the solution was not to completely shut down an app or the social media site, stressing that the access could be limited due to security threats in certain areas.

“But it’s like two truths and a lie kind of situation,” she said as it’s not just the rights but businesses, riding apps and free lancers, among others, who were affected but the negative message that it sent to international community. “It hurts business and investments as well,” she said.

Sharing views with The Express Tribune, IT and AI Strategist and Consultant Khawaja Fahad Shakeel said that disrupting X had technical, social and economic implications for the country. “It is used to make trends like the 2024 general elections, former Rawalpindi Commissioner Liquat Ali Chatha and the like.

On top of that, Shakeel said, the international media and watchdogs kept monitoring and measuring trends through the parameters like social media apps, used by all bigwigs and political parties. “If it is blocked, they stops making trends and the rankings fall significantly.”

He said common people are unaware of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), stressing that around 2 or 3% of the total internet users in Pakistan knew how to use VPNs to operate the social media platform. “When people have no access to information,” Shakeel said, “it impacts negatively.”

IT sector is divided into four industries—call center industry, SEO [Search Engine Optimisation] marketing industry, software development industry and social media industry, Shakeel said, adding the IT companies had to move to Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn to market their brands, when X was down.

Economic analyst and Alpha Beta Core CEO Khurram Schehzad said that the marketing agencies took full advantage of all social medial platforms and if even one app was down, it hurt businesses and image of the country.

“The social media are way more powerful these days, if it is blocked, it negatively impacts people, including investors, companies and foreigners.”