The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday adjourned hearing on a petition seeking directions for legislation to regulate social media use by children under 16 years of age due to the unavailability of Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar.
IHC adjourns hearing on petition to regulate social media use by children under 16
ISLAMABAD, Aug 28 (APP): The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday adjourned hearing on a petition seeking directions for legislation to regulate social media use by children under 16 years of age due to the unavailability of Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar.
The petition, filed by citizen Waqas Nasir through advocates Muhammad Jalal Haider and Yahya Fareed Khawaja, had been fixed for hearing on Thursday but could not be taken up.
The petitioner has sought directions for establishing an effective age-verification mechanism for social media accounts of children under 16 and a comprehensive legal and regulatory framework to protect children from the harmful effects of social media, cyberbullying, online harassment and harmful content.
The petition cited legislation and regulatory measures adopted or proposed in several countries as comparative examples, including Australia’s restrictions concerning social media accounts of children under 16, France’s requirement of parental consent for children under 15, the UK’s Online Safety Act 2023, New Zealand’s proposed legislation concerning social media use by children under 16 and Spain’s proposed restrictions on social media use by children under 16.
It submitted that such measures reflected an emerging international trend towards strengthening the digital protection of children, including age verification, parental controls and safeguards against harmful content.
The petitioner also relied on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and General Comment No. 25, arguing that protection of the best interests of children was a constitutional and legal responsibility of the state.
The petition sought a comprehensive policy for safeguarding children’s digital rights, privacy and mental and physical well-being.
The Ministry of IT, Ministry of Information, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Law, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) have been made respondents.
The petitioner has also sought establishment of a dedicated social media protection and regulatory mechanism for children and directions to the federal government to enact appropriate legislation regulating social media use by children under 16.
