PTA submits detailed reply on banning social media use by children under 16

ISLAMABAD, Oct 01 (APP): The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has submitted its detailed reply before the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in a case regarding a ban on social media use by children under the age of 16.

In its reply, the PTA stated that no law currently exists to ban social media use by children under 16, and that it cannot establish an age-verification system for children beyond the law and its granted powers. It said a new legal and policy framework is necessary to protect children from online threats.

The authority submitted that its power to block illegal online content is limited and temporary in nature.

The PTA informed the court that a Social Media Protection and Regulatory Authority is being established under the PECA Amendment 2025, and that its creation for complaints regarding illegal content and forgery will be operationalized soon.

It stated that action against cybercrime and immoral content is now the mandate of the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA).

The PTA informed the court that it has so far reviewed over 1.789 million illegal online links and URLs, and has blocked more than 1.577 million illegal URLs for online violations.

According to the reply, the PTA’s overall content-blocking rate has been 88.20 percent. It blocked 88.68 percent of links on TikTok, 87.34 percent on YouTube, and 78.57 percent on Facebook. On Instagram, 79.52 percent of links were acted upon, while on X (Twitter), 48.42 percent were blocked.

More than 1.066 million websites and links related to immoral content were blocked, over 203,000 links related to anti-Islam material, and more than 46,000 links against national security were blocked, the PTA stated.

The authority submitted that social media companies are neither registered in Pakistan nor bound by local laws, and technical limitations remain an obstacle. It said that due to HTTPS encryption, blocking individual content is impossible, and entire websites have to be shut down.

The PTA stated that no response has been received so far from social media companies on its request for local compliance and the appointment of a grievance officer.

It said awareness campaigns for child protection are ongoing in collaboration with UNICEF, TikTok, Meta and GSMA. A toll-free helpline, 1121, has been activated for reporting online abuse and exploitation of children, and a safety feature, “Teen Accounts,” has been introduced for Pakistani users on Instagram.

The PTA requested the court to dismiss the petition to the extent of relief sought beyond its legal scope.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the Ministry of Interior, and the National Commission on the Rights of the Child also submitted their replies before the Islamabad High Court.

Advocates Muhammad Jalal Haider and Yahya Farid appeared before the court on behalf of the petitioner.