The Ministry of IT and Telecommunication has dropped the controversial e-Safety Bill.
Sources in the Ministry of IT and Telecommunication told ProPakistani that the Ministry has stopped work on the e-Safety Bill and the proposed bill has also been removed from the website of the Ministry of IT.
Sources added that in the last days of the previous government, it was decided to send this bill to the Ministry of Law, but later it was decided to drop it.
According to the sources, the Cabinet did not approve the E-Safety Bill in principle, but the Cabinet approved its preparation. Later, the bill was prepared as an emergency, but there were many defects in the proposed bill.
Officials of the Ministry of IT and Telecom stated that the e-Safety Bill and Data Protection Bill have become ineffective after the end of the National Assembly. The Personal Data Protection Bill was prepared by the Ministry of IT and extensive consultation was done on it and its cabinet gave in-principal approval, now the cabinet coming after the elections may approve this bill with some changes.
The officials added that the e-Safety Bill was prepared in haste and stakeholders were not consulted on it, so reservations were also expressed on it. The proposed bill is about a new authority, so if the incoming government wants, the bill will be drafted afresh and all stakeholders will be consulted.
In the last week of July, the previous Cabinet gave in-principle approval to the e-Safety Bill and the Personal Data Protection Bill. Later, the Ministry of IT and Telecom uploaded the proposed e-Safety Bill on the Ministry’s website and invited suggestions from the public and all stakeholders. But the bill was mysteriously removed a few days after it was uploaded on the website.
In the first week of August, an international coalition of global internet companies had written a letter to the Prime Minister and expressed concerns over proposed E-safety and Data protection Bills. The Asia Internet Coalition had recommended wide consultation on both the bills and the amendments to the PECA Act.
