#WeRejectCyberBill is trending in Pakistan

Yesterday, the Senate of Pakistan approved the controversial Cyber Crime Bill with some amendments to the original clauses mentioned in the bill. Today, #WeRejectCyberBill is trending on social media platforms, Facebook and Twitter. The Pakistani nation has took to the social media to openly criticize a bill that is allegedly defending the politicians and taking away freedom of speech.

Through this bill, anyone that uses the internet for hate speech, fraud, hacking, pornography, or cyber terrorism will be sentenced to jail along with fines of up to PKR 5,000,000/- It is also expected that the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) would be given regulating duties for the bill, which essentially means that they would control all content available on the internet in Pakistan.

In protest to this decision by the Senate to approve the Cyber Crime Bill, the people of Pakistan have raised their voices via Facebook and Twitter with the hashtag #WeRejectCyberBill. These individuals have made use of quotes on Freedom of Speech, strongly worded messages to the government, and thought-provoking images to protest against the approval of this bill.

The people of Pakistan have spoken loud and clear, the Cyber Crime Bill needs to go. Hundreds of posts and tweets have been sent out in protest to the Cyber Crime Bill to eliminate clauses in the bill that take away the freedom from the people. With the Cyber Crime Bill in place now, will the government take notice of these protests?