Chairman, Council of Islamic Ideology (CCII) Dr. Qibla Ayaz Tuesday emphasised public awareness drive in all sections of media to discourage offensive content and highlight related laws to guide future young minds.
Talking to the state-run TV, he urged the electronic media to telecast the programs related to the biography of the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) in order to respond this insolence by presenting the role of a true Muslim in light of divine commands and Sunnah.
He said that the users must report this content on social media to Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) or Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony for timely handling the situation within the domain of laws and the Constitution. The regulation of harmful speech in online spaces requires drawing a line between legitimate freedom of speech and hate speech, he added.
He said legal responsibility needs to be applied on digital platforms in relation to the distribution of illegal content, incitement to violence and terrorism, and more.”
Replying a question, he said “immoral and obscene content” will be a punishable offense under the new rules”.
Moreover, social media companies and service providers will be required to devise community guidelines in order to inform users about uploading content. He said that the government had already launched a strict crackdown drive against culprits involved in these activities which aimed to curb the incident involving the use of vulgar content.
To another question, he said nowadays, social media has gained much fame and has become an inseparable part of our lives, adding, every individual in our society is involved with social media.
Social media can be beneficial when used positively, he added.
