Digital rights experts react to Facebook’s transparency report

Digital Rights Activists were reacting to a Facebook transparency report that claimed Pakistan had submitted the highest number of requests in the world to the social media giant to curb malicious and immoral content posted on its platform in the first six months of 2018. (AFP/File)

• Pakistan tops Facebook content censorship requests
• Experts call for clear definition of ‘social order’

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan should define ‘social order’ in its crusade against objectionable online media content, digital rights activists told Arab News on Thursday. 
They were reacting to a Facebook transparency report that claimed Pakistan had submitted the highest number of requests in the world to the social media giant to curb malicious and immoral content posted on its platform in the first six months of 2018.
Nighat Dad, the executive director of Digital Rights Foundation, explained that social media channels have evolved over the years and become a vital component to start movements and express opinions across the globe.
She said: “Freedom of expression is a fundamental right given by democratic states to its citizens, which is why state censorship in offline and online spaces is not acceptable.”
According to the Facebook report, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) made 2,203 requests to restrict content, recording a 700 percent increase from last year’s 300 and surpassing the number of censorship demands from all countries in the world.
“The only reason behind blocking content was to handle political propaganda months before the general elections [held in July],” cybersecurity expert and chief technical officer of the Pakistan Information Security Association, Mubashir Sargana, told Arab News. “There were social media campaigns backed by some political parties defaming judiciary and military.” 
He said: “Social media can cause immeasurable damage through such campaigns,” adding that “censorship with defined limits and parameters is absolutely okay.”
Yet many digital rights activists do not subscribe to that view. 
Muhammed Junaid Kazi, the chief executive of Media Inbound, said Pakistan must maintain a balance to regulate content but not at the cost of suppressing freedom of expression.
“Individuals consider social media platforms their personal space and to share what they feel like. The state shouldn’t violate the basic rights of free speech but also shouldn’t allow blasphemous, inciteful, indecent content to flood the social platforms as it affects the country in multiple ways,” Kazi told Arab News.
It is unknown under which category or crime complaints were filed with Facebook by Pakistan authorities, but of the 92 emergency and 1,141 legal requests made, Facebook fulfilled 58 percent, divulging its users’ information.
“Each and every request we receive is carefully reviewed for legal sufficiency and we may reject or require greater specificity on requests that appear overly broad or vague,” Facebook said in its report.
The social media giant clarified that it “accepts government requests to preserve account information pending receipt of formal legal process. When we receive a preservation request, we will preserve a temporary snapshot of the relevant account information but will not disclose any of the preserved records unless and until we receive formal and valid legal process.”
Digital rights activists believe the Pakistani state has to take some responsibility in this area too.