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5 LUMS L.J. 117 (2018)
The Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016: An Analysis

handle is hein.journals/lumslj5 and id is 120 raw text is: The Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016: An Analysis Eesha Arshad Khan* Introduction The advent of the digital age has created the need for a robust cybercrime legislation to be formulated by nation-states. However, many countries around the world are struggling with drafting comprehensive laws in this regard. Technological developments are outpacing the solutions proposed by state institutions, which aim to address the new challenges arising from the increasing use of digital media. Governments are also struggling to amend existing laws that seek to ensure the regulation of 'cybersecurity'.1 In Pakistan, prior to the promulgation of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) in 2016, the Electronic Transactions Ordinance 2002 (ETO) criminalised unlawful and unauthorised access to information. In the absence of a direct data protection legislation, the ETO provisions theoretically regulated data privacy and protection. It, however, does not regulate data protection directly but criminalises unlawful or unauthorised access to information.2 It also envisages the establishment of a governmental authority to certify electronic documents and makes regulations for the privacy and protection of its users.3 The issues that have currently emerged due to the increasing usage of digital media call for the creation and implementation of a suitable legal framework that strives to protect the 'digital rights' of individuals.4 It must not be forgotten that such laws are ultimately enacted for the protection of citizens. Any draconian provision that curtails the constitutional rights of citizens and bolsters tyrannical governmental power would defeat the spirit and letter of the law. Despite near universal condemnation from alarmed human rights activists and politicians,5 the PECA came into effect in August 2016. The enactment of this controversial statute ended a lengthy and fraught battle between the government and the various stakeholders who denounced it as an incoherent mix of anti-speech, anti-privacy and anti-Internet provisions.6 In a country like Pakistan, where there is relatively low digital literacy, an effective * BA-LL.B (Hons) Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS). 1 Measures taken to protect a computer or computer system (as on the Internet) against unauthorized access or attack. 'Cybersecurity' (Merriam-Webster, 2018) <https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cybersecurity> accessed 31 October 2018. 2 Electronic Transactions Act 2002, s. 36. 3 Ibid, s. 43 (2) (e). ' Digital rights are basically human rights in the internet era. Rosamund Hutt, 'What Are Your Digital Rights?' (World Economic Forum, 2015) <https://www.weforun.org/agenda/2015/1 1/what-are-your-digital-rights- explainer> accessed 5 September 2018. 5 Flawed' Cybercrime Bill Approved' (DAWN, 17 April 2015) <https://www.dawn.com/news/1 176440> accessed 19 August 2018. 6 Danny O'Brien, 'The Global Ambitions of Pakistan's New Cyber-Crime Act' (Electronic Frontier Foundation, 2016) <https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2016/08/global-ambitions-pakistans-new-cyber-crime-act> accessed 18 September 2018. 117

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