A more draconian Peca?

The government is planning to significantly change the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca), 2016. The proposed changes will see the establishment of a new authority with the power to block online content, restrict access to social media platforms and prosecute individuals spreading "fake news".

The move could lead to excessive regulation of online content and speech, grant authorities broad discretionary powers to censor content and punish those who express dissenting views or share information considered to be controversial or inconvenient to those in power.

Such wide-ranging measures will further restrict freedom of speech in online spaces. One must then ask: is the online space already not suffocating enough with the recent bans and unannounced throttling of the internet and social media platforms?

During the PTI government, there was too much talk of "5th generation warfare" and how the country needs its own "cyber warriors" to blunt the "enemy propaganda" online.

The then information minister publicly said the traditional media is a thing of past and the future belongs to digital media. Result: emergence of "netizen journalism" bringing in its tow a new breed of "journalists" who mostly churned out click-bait "news content" with no editorial oversight and scant regard for ethics and standards.

Fast forward to today: Some of the same "netizen journalists" or "cyber warriors" are leading the charge against the state's narrative - and they seem to be prevailing.

The government's unhealthy obsession with controlling the narrative has eroded the credibility of traditional media, pushing news consumers towards social media where they get to consume what they believe is right.

In this situation, misinformation, disinformation and fake news undoubtedly become a huge challenge. However, silencing dissent and curtailing free speech in the name of combating fake news will only contribute to democratic backsliding in the country.

In a healthy democracy, people are free to speak, even if their speech is uncomfortable to others. Only autocratic regimes muzzle free speech because they demand unquestioning compliance from their citizenry.