Mass surveillance

THE new National Cybercrime Investigation Agency chief, Ali Nasir Rizvi, has adopted a “zero-tolerance policy against fake news and anti-state propaganda”, according to the agency. Troublingly, neither ‘fake news’ nor ‘anti-state propaganda’ has a clear, legal meaning, and the fact that these terms are now centrepieces in the NCCIA’s policy gives rise to concerns about what the state’s priorities truly are. The authority’s mandate includes protecting citizens from fraud, harassment, blackmail, and financial scams. It recently shut down several fraudulent call centres , showing it can deliver…