ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has told the Islamabad High Court that there is currently no law in Pakistan prohibiting children under the age of 16 from using social media.
In its detailed response in a case concerning restrictions on social media use by children under 16, the PTA said it could not establish an age-verification system for children beyond the powers granted to it under existing law.
The authority said protecting children from online risks requires a new legal and policy framework. It added that its authority to block unlawful online content is limited and interim in nature.
According to the PTA, the Social Media Protection and Regulatory Authority is being established under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) Amendment 2025. The authority said the proposed body will handle complaints related to unlawful content and impersonation, while action against cybercrimes and obscene content now falls within the mandate of the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA).
The PTA told the court that it has so far reviewed more than 1.789 million illegal online links and URLs, of which over 1.577 million have been blocked, representing an overall blocking rate of 88.20 percent.
The authority said action was taken against 88.68 percent of reported links on TikTok, 87.34 percent on YouTube and 78.57 percent on Facebook. It also reported blocking 79.52 percent of links on Instagram and 48.42 percent on X (formerly Twitter).
The PTA further stated that more than 1.066 million websites and links containing obscene content had been blocked, along with more than 203,000 links related to anti-Islamic content and over 46,000 links concerning national security.
The authority said social media companies are neither registered in Pakistan nor fully subject to local laws, creating regulatory and technical challenges. It also noted that HTTPS encryption makes it technically difficult to block individual pieces of content, meaning entire websites may have to be blocked in some cases.
According to the PTA, requests made to social media companies to establish local compliance mechanisms and appoint grievance officers have so far received no response.
The authority said it is working with UNICEF, TikTok, Meta and the GSM Association on awareness campaigns aimed at protecting children online. It added that a toll-free 1121 helpline has been activated for reporting online abuse and exploitation of children.
The PTA also said Instagram’s Teen Accounts safety feature has been introduced for users in Pakistan.
The authority asked the Islamabad High Court to dismiss the petition to the extent that it seeks relief beyond the PTA’s legal jurisdiction.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Ministry of Interior and National Commission on the Rights of Child have also submitted their responses to the Islamabad High Court. Lawyers Muhammad Jalal Haider and Yahya Fareed represented the petitioner.