ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly on Thursday approved the Prevention of Electronic Crimes (Amendment) Act, 2025.

Federal Minister for Industries and Production Rana Tanveer presented the PECA Act Amendment Bill 2025 in the National Assembly for approval, which was approved by the lower house by majority vote.

The draft titled “Prevention of Electronic Crimes (Amendment) Act, 2025” includes new definitions, the establishment of regulatory and investigative bodies, and stricter penalties for disseminating “false” information.

The government aims to lower the punishment for spreading “fake information” online to three years, according to a draft of the document, while they may also face a fine of up to Rs2 million.

Journalists also staged a walkout from the press gallery against the PICA Act Amendment Bill 2025. The PICA Act Amendment Bill 2025 was not opposed by any coalition party in the government, while the opposition staged a walkout even before the bill was tabled.

Earlier, the Joint Action Committee of Journalist Organizations rejected the bill to amend the PICA Act.

The Joint Action Committee of Journalists said that amendments to the PICA Act are being made without consulting journalists’ organizations.

The Joint Action Committee consists of Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFU), All Pakistan Newspaper Society(APNS), Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors(CPNE), Association of Electronic Media Editors and News Directors (Amend) and Pakistan Broadcasters Association (PBA).

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The Joint Action Committee said that the government has not shared the draft amendments to the PICA Act so far, the government should not pass the PICA Act amendment bill without consulting the stakeholders.