Islamabad, May 1 -- In troubling assessment released ahead of World Press Freedom Day on May 3, Freedom Network has warned that the growing use of cybercrime legislation is posing a grave risk to media independence in Pakistan.

The report, titled Regulatory Repression of Freedom of Expression -- Legal Controls and Peca Undermine Media and Journalism in Pakistan, highlights how recent changes to the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) have intensified pressure on journalists, forcing many into silence to avoid legal consequences, as reported by Dawn.

According to Dawn, the expanded scope of PECA has led to an atmosphere where self-censorship is increasingly common. Journalists face a combination of legal intimidation, defamation l...