The brutal murder of Arshad Sharif in Kenya has once again raised questins about free expression in Pakistan. While the details about the murder still remain murky, it is important to talk about how the state and its institutions exert influence over expression, particularly in the digital media domain.

In this episode, Uzair talks to Ramsha Jahangir about digital media freedoms in Pakistan. Ramsha Jahangir is an award-winning journalist and an Erasmus Mundus scholar. Ramsha has extensively reported on the intersection of technology and human rights in Pakistan, focusing on disinformation, internet regulation, and digital politics. She is currently working at Global Network Initiative (GNI) as a senior policy and communications associate. She tweets @ramshajahangir.

Reading Recommendations:

– The People Vs Tech: How the Internet is Killing Democracy (and how We Save It) by Jamie Bartlett

– The Death of the Gods: The New Global Power Grab by Carl Miller

Chapters:

0:00 Introduction

3:30 Ways to curb free expression

10:20 Where do things go from here?

16:20 Why are journalists on the periphery ignored?

19:50 How different is Pakistan?

25:10 What are better models in terms of policy?

33:10 Policy and investment in tech

38:00 Should we be hopeful?

42:40 Reading recommendations