Pakistan Bulletin
An up-to-date and informed analyses of key issues of Pakistan.
Restricted Internet Access: Cyber Security or Digital Dictatorship
August 2024
After conflicting statements about the cause of disruptions in internet services by the government, the media and the civil society have begun to question the real motive behind the action.
Since early August, millions of Pakistanis had been experiencing a rapid decline in internet speed as well as disruptions in accessing multiple social media platforms and messaging applications like WhatsApp, with call and voice note options rendered inaccessible. As online businesses faced losses and discontent grew, many digital rights organizations blamed the government for installing a ‘firewall’, aimed at curbing political dissent and controlling the spread of information online.
In the beginning the Minister of State for Information Technology, Shaza Fatima Khawaja, denied accusations hurled at the state for slowing down internet speed by claiming there were absolutely no issues. She later blamed the slowed down internet speeds on the extended use of VPNs by users to access the social media platform ‘X’, banned by the government since February elections this year. In contrast to this, a report by human rights organization BytesForAll debunked the government’s claim, suggesting that using VPNs could actually improve internet speed and access in certain scenarios. The Minister then issued another statement declaring that the internet disruption was caused by a routine upgrade to a national web-management system. Khawaja reasoned that such security measures were taken in the wake of a “cyber attack” that Pakistan was facing. Days later, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority announced that Pakistan’s internet services are likely to return to normal in ‘early October’, attributing the disruption in internet speed to ‘faults in submarine cables connecting Pakistan internationally.
The government's inconsistent explanations for internet disruptions highlight a troubling trend of curbing dissent.
Despite government authorities not being on the same page when it came to an explanation over the disruption of internet speeds, VPN bans, and firewall installation, the words ‘cyber security’ were definitely not new for the public. The term ‘digital terrorism’ has been under use by government officials and military leadership since May this year. It has been explained as a digital campaign creating a “divide between the people and armed forces.”
This begs the questions: Does Pakistan genuinely suffer from a cyber security problem?
According to Dorothy Denning, a US-American information security researcher, cyber terrorism “refers to unlawful attacks and threats of attack against computers, networks, and the information stored therein when done to intimidate or coerce a government or its people in furtherance of political or social objectives.“
The recent actions of restricting the digital space came on the heels of May 9, 2023 conflict between the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf workers and government. These measures were strengthened around election time. The government claimed that the May 9 riots were premeditated attacks, planned online by opposition party members. While this holds true, it is difficult to link this with cyber terrorism as no threat of attacks were made to gain access to confidential information. Neither did any solid evidence indicate the threat of cyber terrorists.
Rights activists have described the recent fire wall installation, and the earlier ban on social media platform ‘X’ (formerly known as Twitter), as an attempt to counter political dissent by rights activists. From suspending mobile internet services during the February elections this year, to now allegedly placing a firewall on systems used by data providers which allows for targeted monitoring, the state has been observed to have developed a pattern of curbing dissent by doubling down on internet access restriction.
The restriction and blocking of information are a human rights violation as it endangers people’s right to debate, discuss and express their discontent whenever they want to. Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights states that “Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds”. The government’s current actions could mean an even greater policing by subjecting the general public to further restricted digital access.
The economic fallout of the internet disruption is likely to create unrest and lead to brain drain.
Apart from suppression of political rights, the cost of disruption in internet access is threatening the livelihoods of the majority of workers population that is dependent on digital economy. Pakistan has a robust freelancing community comprising over one million professionals, predominantly engaged in the IT sector. Pakistan represents 10% of the global freelancers in the software development sector around the world, according to a World Bank data. It also has a solid representation in the “Active Freelance” community whereby 2.3 million Pakistani professionals – out of a global total of 19 million – are attached to gig work at Upwork, Fiverr, and other such platforms. According to the Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) the country faces potential losses of up to $300 million due to internet disruptions. The social cost of this loss is as significant since joblessness leads to desperation and unrest.
The government’s non-transparent handling of the internet firewall installation, and lack of responsibility in addressing the social and economic fallout of the move is likely to have negative political repercussions. Regardless of its attempts to evade accountability by taking control of information channels and shape public narratives, Pakistan’s public’s history of support for democracy and political rights suggests the current actions will not be silently accepted by the public.
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