Protection of online data in Pakistan.

Abstract

In this digital day and age, when everything is getting transformed by technology and revolutionizing the world, Pakistan still lacks a Data Protection Act and Privacy Laws to protect its citizens. It is a pity that the Data Protection Act 2005 is still in a draft form and has not been promulgated into law since the last 9 years. Considering the changes that have taken place starting from the evolution of smartphones and tablets to the Snowden revelations, it is baffling to see the Government being so naive and failing miserably to implement the draft Data Protection Act 2005 with much-needed alterations. The enactment of the Data Protection Law is an absolute necessity for starter’s sake. In the absence of any Data Protection Act, our data being held by companies and others alike is vulnerable to being breached and misused. With the enactment of a Data Protection Act, it can enshrine the basic right of privacy guaranteed to any Pakistani citizen by our Constitution. Recently the National Assembly draft the bill for the protection of Online Data but still it is not passed in the National Assembly. Our Legal Research will be consisted of four chapters. In first chapter we’ll analyze the personal Data Protection Bill 2018 and present laws related to the privacy. In second Chapter we’ll figure out the weak points and lacunas of the draft. In third chapter we’ll compare National Assembly’s draft to the other laws like GDPR. In fourth chapter we’ll discuss the adequate remedies available to the citizens of Pakistan before the 2018 bill. Later on we’ll give the recommendations and conclude our thesis.