Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), 2016

Document type
Legislation
Country
Raghav
Mendiratta
Joan
Barata

Safe Harbour Provision: The Act stipulates that no service providers would be longer liable for civil or criminal violations committed by their users, unless there is evidence that they had specific knowledge or made a wilful attempt to participate in those offences. Section 35 also states that no service provider is under an obligation to proactively monitor the content hosted/cached/transmitted or made available by such intermediary.

Vague and Overbroad takedown provisions: The Act empowers the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to remove or block information through any information system if it considers it ‘necessary in the interest of the glory of Islam or the integrity, security or defence of Pakistan or any part thereof, public order, decency or morality, or in relation to contempt of court’. This provision is problematic since the PTA has complete authority to directly block whatever it considers objectionable content.

Country
Topic, claim, or defense
General or Non-Specified
Obscenity or Morality
Public Order (Includes National Security)
Document type
Legislation
Issuing entity
Legislative Branch
Type of service provider
Host (Including Social Networks)
Issues addressed
Notice Formalities
OSP obligation considered
Block or Remove
Type of law
Criminal
General effect on immunity
Weakens Immunity
General intermediary liability model
Takedown/Act Upon Knowledge (Includes Notice and Takedown)
Takedown/Act Upon Administrative Request