Forum for Digital Rights and Democracy (FDRD)
Our series of consultations on the UNESCO Guidelines for the Governance of Digital Platforms in 2024 have confirmed that there is a need and strong demand from the civil society, academia, and media that there should be consistent and sustained advocacy to protect and promote the digital rights of Pakistani citizens, including their freedom of expression and their access to information and diverse cultural content, while also providing alternative and rights-respecting solutions to address issues of online disinformation, hate speech and threats to data privacy and protection.
The current regulatory environment regarding Internet and social media also necessitates a persistent and collaborative effort from rights holders to make sure that regulations are not misused to infringe on fundamental freedoms.
Based on this expression of needs and demand, with the support of International Media Support (IMS), we launched a formal multi-stakeholder advocacy group called the Forum for Digital Rights and Democracy (FDRD). The FDRD will work towards three main objectives:
- Facilitate and develop multistakeholder consensus in Pakistan about the protection and promotion of digital rights and governance of the Internet and digital platforms
- Raise public awareness and generate public support for digital rights as fundamental human rights of citizens and promote media and information literacy
- Conduct advocacy with government and other stakeholders to ensure that the regulatory framework and practices regarding Internet governance and cyberspace are respectful of the fundamental freedoms of citizens and in line with international human rights law