Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Director General Dr Sanaullah Abbasi said that the importance of digital and smart communication could not be ignored, however, the cybercrimes were also on the rise with the increasing use of social media. Addressing a seminar on prevention of cybercrimes, here at Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University, the FIA director general said that the Cybercrime Bill 2016 had become an Act, adding that its violation was now punishable, and the people needed to be educated on this, according to a press release. Dr Abbasi said that parents should monitor the activities of their children, while NGOs, media, civil society and other stakeholders should support the FIA in controlling the cybercrimes.

He said that the FIA was organizing a series of seminars for creating awareness among the public, especially the students, to ensure prevention of such incidents. Any kind of exploitation, criminal access, obscene messages and emails, and illegal access to any data was prohibited under the cybercrime law, he added. He said that spreading false information about any person, uploading nude photos/videos, harassing online and intruding into the privacy of citizens were punishable. Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Amanat Ali Jalbani said that if any person witnessed any indecent material in any group of social media, he/she should immediately report the same to the authority concerned.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-INP