Islamabad, July 11, 2024: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar informed the Senate Standing Committee on Information on Wednesday that all social media platforms are active in the country, except for “X,” which was banned due to compliance issues.
The minister stated that the decision to ban “X” was made by the caretaker government in response to a query from Senator Barrister Ali Zafar, who chaired the Senate Panel.
He added that the Ministry of Interior had submitted its reply to the Islamabad High Court regarding the ban on X, formerly known as Twitter. “The matter is with the court, which will take an appropriate decision in this regard,” he expressed.
“There are no restrictions on Facebook, TikTok, Snapchat, and LinkedIn, where users post various types of content,” he pointed out.
The committee chairman emphasized the importance of ensuring fundamental rights for all citizens. “Freedom of expression is a fundamental right guaranteed to every citizen by the Constitution,” he emphasized.
Senator Ali emphasized the need to develop a mechanism in collaboration with the Ministry of Information that not only ensures accurate information dissemination from government departments but also facilitates resolution of public issues.
During the standing committee meeting, Senator Irfan Siddiqui urged measures to discourage misuse of freedom of expression, citing rampant false and fabricated news on social media platforms.
Senator Jam Muhammad called for a strategy to combat fake news, misinformation, and disinformation, advocating for the use of social media sites in the national interest.
Senator Pervez Rasheed expressed regret over propaganda on these platforms and condemned the use of derogatory language by certain individuals.
The minister highlighted the necessity of addressing crimes in the digital domain, noting the current lack of mechanisms to combat issues like deepfake. He mentioned that the federal cabinet had discussed establishing a Digital Rights Protection Authority, chaired by Rana Sanaullah, with the Information and IT ministers as members.
Responding to Senator Pervez Rasheed, the minister outlined strict criteria for evaluating films within the ministry and stressed the importance of promoting the entertainment industry in Pakistan. He mentioned initiatives under the Film Finance Fund to encourage quality movie production by engaging prominent producers.
Regarding health insurance for journalists and media workers, the minister noted that the scheme was initiated during the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government, and highlighted efforts by the current government to revive it. He announced that the federal government would fully cover health insurance for journalists in Islamabad, with an initial phase benefiting 5,000 individuals and a total of 30,000 expected to benefit nationwide.
