Islamabad, Sep 27 (IANS) The private data of Pakistani citizens – including federal ministers, senior government officials and ordinary people – is available for sale on various websites with no government authority taking any action, a report cited on Saturday.
According to Pakistani daily Express Tribune, trading in personal data continues to operate unabated, while institutions, including the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), have so far failed to restrict it.
Citing reports from multiple citizens, it stated that such websites are not the only ones selling data. Some individuals are also trading this information through platforms like WhatsApp groups and social media pages.
“Websites openly selling citizens’ data on the internet have yet to be shut down, while the team formed earlier this month to probe the data leak has requested three more weeks to finalise its report,” the Express Tribune report stressed.
Earlier this month, an Amnesty International report highlighted that Pakistan’s unlawful mass surveillance and censorship expansion, enabled by a nexus of foreign companies, exposes how Pakistani authorities have obtained technology through a covert global supply chain.
The human rights organisation further asserted that concerns around unlawful surveillance and online censorship in Pakistan have been longstanding.
“Under an oppressive political landscape, the country’s legal system offers no real protection against mass surveillance. Domestic laws lack safeguards and those that exist, such as warrant requirements under the Fair Trial Act, are often ignored, while authorities acquire ever more sophisticated surveillance and censorship tools from foreign companies. The purchase of these sophisticated technologies has amplified the country’s capacity to silence dissent, including by targetting journalists, civil society, and the public,” the Amnesty report stated.
Another report had recently cited that Pakistan’s shift towards surveillance-driven authoritarianism is not merely a domestic concern, but serves as a warning to democracies worldwide.
It noted that millions navigate their everyday lives under the gaze of Pakistani authorities with no meaningful consent, oversight, or regulation, enabled by a profitable and largely unaccountable global industry.
“Pakistan has emerged as one of the world’s most closely watched societies, not by choice, but through the construction of an elaborate mass surveillance architecture that scrutinizes the digital and mobile activities of millions. This vast system—powered by a blend of local enforcement and international technology has drawn repeated warnings from rights groups and growing condemnation from global leaders, who argue it not only shreds privacy but fundamentally undermines democracy and moral norms,” the report detailed.
–IANS
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