Topic: Laws on Cyber Crimes Facilitator: Digital Watch

Date: January-2019 Venue: AGHS-Legal Aid Cell

Paralegals were called on the 18th & 19th of January to attend a training session on Cyber Crime Laws in Pakistan.  It is fairly a new concept and it is essential for our paralegal trainees to learn about the laws formulated especially in the medium of cyber space. Ms Shumyla Khan and Ms. Zainab from the Digital Rights Foundation (DRF) were in attendance. The DRF team began the training session with the definition of what cyber crime means?  They informed the paralegals that in Pakistan, cyber crime involves hacking into someone’s system or disrupting information systems to withdraw sensitive data and it is through this medium that criminal offences takes place. The Digital Rights Foundation team also sensitized the paralegal members on the various types of Cyber Crimes that takes place in Pakistan.

They then elaborated what are the Digital Rights of a person which falls under Article 14 of the Constitution and Right to Information under Article 19-A. The necessity of Digital Rights is to have personal safety, uphold confidentiality and inform about the laws and engage in developing better and safe movements to protect the digital rights. The DRF team also explained various Legal Articles under Anti terrorism act 1972, Pakistan Telecommunication Act 1996, and most importantly about Prevention of Electronics Crimes Ordinance 2016 (PECA). PECA also deals with Online Harassment and Violence.

At the end of the session the trainees were given out assessment forms and the opportunity to share their views.