(Karachi) Social networking site Facebook has agreed to share its data with local authorities to investigate and eradicate cybercrime, media reported.

As per details, the Facebook administration inked an agreement with the cybercrime wing of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to share the data with Pakistani authorities in a bid to curb the leeway cyber criminals enjoyed.

The agreement with Facebook was signed by FIA’s cyber-crime wing Director Aamir Farooqi and Additional Director Abdul Qadir Qamar.

As part of the pact, Facebook experts will also help authorities to speed up investigations into cyber-crime cases.

Earlier, the Cyber Harassment Helpline of Digital Rights Foundation (DRF) reported an increase of 189 percent in complaints during the lockdown enforced in response to COVID-19 outbreak.

A policy brief titled ‘COVID-19 and Cyber Harassment’ issued by DRF shows that as compared to January and February, March and April saw an increase of 189 per cent in complaints registered with the Cyber Harassment Helpline. Around 74 per cent of the cases in March and April were reported by women, 19 per cent by men, and 5 per cent by gender non-binary persons.