ISLAMABAD – The National Social Media Coordination Working Group, which has been recently formed by Prime Minister Imran Khan, held its first meeting under the chairmanship of National Security Advisor Dr. Moeed Yusuf on Wednesday.
PM Imran constituted NSMCWG to work on relevant policies related to Social Media, provide input to Government of Pakistan on Social Media related issues and engage with international Social Media companies in a coherent and coordinated manner.
The Working Group consists of Ministry of Information &Technology as the Lead ministry, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Ministry of Law & Justice, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Commerce, Prime Minister’s Focal Person on Digital Media (Spokesperson), Pakistan Telecommunication Authority and Digital Media Wing as permanent members while Chair of NSMWG can include any other ministry/department or Think Tank as Co-opted member as and when required.
As per the TORs, the NSMCWG will act as a body to coordinate structured engagement with Social Media companies. It is expected to make policy and legislative recommendations to encourage investments of Social Media companies in Pakistan in compliance with Govt policies.
During the meeting, Dr. Moeed said that the main purpose of this group is to have seamless coordination with all relevant ministries & stakeholders and incorporate their input. He emphasized upon data backed policy making in accordance with international best practices while keeping Pakistani sensitivities in mind.
For the next meeting, representatives from State Bank of Pakistan and FBR will also be called to give input about the taxation policies regarding Social Media companies.
Dr. Arslan Khalid, Focal Person to PM on Digital Media, who is also the spokesperson of NSMCWG said “Social Media is one subject which is being dealt by many ministries and departments. It was observed that there was weak coordination between the Govt stake holders resulting in delays and confusion over some policy matters. This working group will bring all the relevant stake holders on one platform which will help in better result-oriented engagement with the social media companies”
National Social Media Working group was notified by the premier last week and is expected to report to the PM on its proceedings regularly.
