Rana Sanaullah says govt to start 'crackdown' against 'immoral videos on social media'

Minister for Interior Rana Sanaullah said on Friday that the government has decided to crack down against "elements maligning people through immoral videos on social media", Aaj News reported.

"The prime minister has directed that such content cannot be tolerated and we will arrest those who spread immoral content on social media,” he said, adding that social media will not be allowed to be used for mudslinging.

His announcement follows that of Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) which released a statement, saying it had taken a notice of "fake videos" spreading on social media.

Sanaullah said incidents where such material is used for blackmailing would be dealt with iron hands, adding that the FIA and other concerned departments have been instructed to take action against "such immoral and unethical videos".

Deepfake videos

The interior minister’s statement comes days after former prime minister Imran Khan said that the Sharifs were going to launch a character assassination drive against him using deepfake technology.

"Now that Eid is over, you will see they are fully prepared for my character assassination. They have hired companies that are readying the material on this count,” he said during an interview earlier this week.

The former premier mentioned that they [Sharifs] always resort to attacking on a personal level because they have been indulging in corruption for the last 35 years.

“When someone talks about their corruption, they attack their character,” he added.