A misinformation bill sets off a backlash in Islamabad
Pakistan's Senate has voted to criminalise the intentional spread of false information online, in a move that could send people to prison for up to three years and hand the state broad new powers over social-media content.
The bill says it targets anyone who intentionally disseminates information they believe to be fake and that could create fear, panic, disorder or unrest. It also allows fines of up to 2 million rupees and would create an agency able to block content deemed unlawful or offensive.
The lower house had already passed the measure the week before, but the Senate vote triggered an immediate backlash. Journalists walked out of the press gallery, and members of the Awami National Party, which sits in the ruling coalition, also left in protest.
Critics argue that the law is too vague and could be used to silence dissent rather than tackle misinformation. Opposition leader Shibli Faraz said it had been rushed through without proper consultation and warned that it would be used to target activists from Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party.
Media groups have reason to be wary. Pakistan has a history of internet shutdowns and platform restrictions, and its regulator temporarily blocked Wikipedia in 2023 over blasphemous material before lifting the ban days later. That record makes any new speech law feel less like a targeted correction and more like another layer of control.
For supporters, the bill is meant to curb panic and disorder online. For opponents, it formalises a system in which the government decides what counts as offensive or false. The real test will be whether enforcement is narrow and evidence-based or whether it becomes another tool against critics and independent reporting.
The bill's vague language is what alarms journalists most. Terms such as false, fake, offensive and disorder can be stretched in enforcement, and the new blocking agency would give the state a fast route to suppress posts before a court ever sees them.
That risk is sharpened by Pakistan's recent record. Internet shutdowns, platform restrictions and a temporary Wikipedia ban have already shown that speech rules can become blunt political instruments, which is why the new law is being read as a test of how far the government wants control to go.
The bill also lands in a political environment where control over information has become a recurring theme. That means any enforcement will be judged not only by the law's text but by whether critics, independent reporters and online users start to feel the chill immediately.
