During a National Assembly session on Wednesday, Parliamentary Secretary Sajid Mehdi announced that 86,000 SIM cards had been disabled in a major effort to counteract disinformation and anti-state activities.
In response to a notification about the proliferation of false material on social media, Mehdi said that in an effort to combat misinformation, the government had also imposed restrictions on access to the social media site X, formerly known as Twitter.
He said it is expected that changes to the Electronic Crimes Act will make laws against fake news even more stringent.
Furthermore, VPN use has been restricted in order to prevent the spread of misleading information. Mehdi stated that in response to the Prime Minister’s direction, a task force has been formed to combat fake news, and educational institutions are starting awareness campaigns.
