“Back in March, Pakistan reached out to Facebook and Twitter asking for their cooperation in identifying users posting blasphemous content.”
A 30-year-old man has been sentenced to death after being convicted of posting what is considered to be blasphemous content to Facebook. Pakistan has strict laws about what citizens post to Facebook. According to Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, blasphemy is an unpardonable offense.
Taimoor Raza had apparently gotten into an exchange on Facebook with a person who turned out to be a counter-terrorism official. Raza engaged in a religious debate and supposedly made disparaging remarks about Islam’s prophet, Muhammed. He was arrested for hate speech and blasphemy.
This has prompted human rights organizations to express their concern over the treatment the accused has received and reports of unfair trials in Pakistan’s justice system. With the growth of social media, the country has sought ways to police its citizens from posting content that goes against Islam, which is often subject to interpretation.
Back in March, Pakistan reached out to Facebook and Twitter asking for their cooperation in identifying users posting blasphemous content. Facebook agreed to send representatives to Pakistan to meet with officials in an attempt to come to an agreement but expressed that they wished to preserve users’ privacy.
It’s hard to imagine that level of censorship from the United States. American citizens enjoy the constitutional right to freedom of speech, which is guaranteed. That includes posting disparaging remarks, photos, and other content that is offensive in nature without fear of reprisal or punishment.
As social media develops and continues to grow worldwide, it brings attention to areas of the globe that do not operate with human rights in mind. Although Raza has the right to appeal his sentence, he is the first to have been sentenced to death for “crimes” that took place on social media. The outlook seems hopeless, considering the amount of effort Pakistan has taken to identify those with opposing views.
The CEO of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, recently offered a solution that involves voting from different demographics from around the world regarding what is considered offensive content. He suggested that Facebook implement artificial intelligence to block said content from populating to user news feeds who have participated. This way, the problem is solved without human intervention. While Facebook addressed the issue, Twitter didn’t acknowledge the request from Pakistan at all. The solution given likely isn’t enough, because it seems that Pakistan wants to make examples out of those who violate strict laws.
Amnesty International published a report on Pakistan’s laws, with growing concern that they enable government-sanctioned abuse to religious minorities within the country. According to the report, the social media laws also encourage citizens to take matters into their own hands when it comes to those who are being accused. They often have no protection or safeguarding against people who would lash out violently toward them. It’s a huge violation of human rights and leaves social media users fearful of voicing opinions and participating in freedoms so many around the world enjoy.
