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Pakistan’s telecom regulator, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), has reportedly told the Islamabad High Court (IHC) that it cannot directly control unregistered social media platforms. That is the PTA’s position in a case about restricting children’s social media use—not a ruling by the court. The reports do not include the full filing or the court’s decision. TechJuice and the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) describe the matter as Writ Petition No. 4163 of 2026.
What did PTA tell the Islamabad High Court?
According to TechJuice, PTA said social media companies had not responded affirmatively to its requests under Rule 7 of the Removal and Blocking of Unlawful Online Content Rules, 2021. PTA reportedly said it first sought compliance in October 2021, including platform registration and the appointment of local compliance and grievance officers. APP also reports PTA’s account that companies did not respond to its request for local officers.
TechJuice quotes PTA’s submission as saying it “has not received an affirmative response from the companies so far.” The same report says PTA described unregistered platforms as not coming “directly under its control.” The reports do not include the companies’ responses, the underlying correspondence, or the full court filing, so these statements should be understood as PTA’s account rather than an independently established finding.
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What does “cannot control” mean in this case?
PTA’s reported position draws a distinction between direct control over a platform and narrower regulatory or blocking actions. APP says PTA told the court that social media platforms generally are not licensed by the telecom regulator and that unregistered platforms therefore do not come directly under its control. That does not mean PTA says it has no powers at all.
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Platform registration and local officers
The reported Rule 7 requests concerned registration and local compliance and grievance officers. PTA says companies did not respond affirmatively. The reports do not establish what additional legal steps, if any, followed from those requests.
Blocking content or URLs
APP reports that PTA described its power to block illegal online content as limited and temporary. PTA also reportedly said HTTPS encryption makes it unable to identify and block individual posts, videos, or pages from intermediary networks. TechJuice says PTA described whole-website blocking as a best-effort fallback, which can also cut off lawful material. These are explanations attributed to PTA in this case, not a comprehensive, independently verified account of the regulator’s technical or legal powers.
Other institutions and legal authority
APP reports that PTA said action against cybercrime and immoral content falls to the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA). It also says PTA described a Social Media Protection and Regulatory Authority as being established under the PECA Amendment 2025. These statements describe PTA’s submission as reported by APP; they do not, by themselves, settle the current statutory or operational status of either body.
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PTA’s figures, as reported by TechJuice and APP in 2026, describe URL or link actions. They are not independent measurements of the amount of harmful material users can access, nor do they measure the quality of platforms’ moderation. TechJuice distinguishes full URL blocking from selective content moderation. The reports do not specify the date range or precise denominator for each platform rate.
| Measure | PTA figure reported in 2026 | What it describes |
|---|---|---|
| Links reviewed | 1.789 million | Reviewed links; an overall reported blocking rate of 88.20% (TechJuice and APP) |
| Illegal URLs blocked | More than 1.577 million | URL blocks reported by PTA (APP) |
| TikTok | 88.68% | Platform blocking rate reported by PTA (TechJuice and APP) |
| YouTube | 87.34% | Platform blocking rate reported by PTA (TechJuice and APP) |
| 79.52% | Platform blocking rate reported by PTA (TechJuice and APP) | |
| 78.57% | Platform blocking rate reported by PTA (TechJuice and APP) | |
| X | 48.42% | Platform blocking rate reported by PTA (TechJuice and APP) |
Is social media banned for children under 16 in Pakistan?
APP reports that PTA told the IHC there is no current law banning children under 16 from using social media, and that PTA cannot establish age verification beyond the authority granted by law. PTA reportedly said a new legal and policy framework would be needed. The court’s ruling, if any, is not included in the available reports, so the filing should not be mistaken for a ban or a judicial decision.
APP also reports PTA’s account of existing child-safety measures: awareness campaigns with UNICEF, TikTok, Meta, and GSMA; activation of toll-free helpline 1121 for reporting online abuse and exploitation; and the introduction of Instagram Teen Accounts for Pakistani users. The report does not assess the effectiveness of these measures.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What could change PTA’s ability to act?
The issue is not one single switch labelled “control.” The reports point to several distinct levers: platform cooperation with registration and local-officer requests; PTA’s reported URL-blocking role; moderation by the platforms themselves; directions from the court; and legislation or institutional mandates affecting bodies such as the NCCIA or the planned social-media authority. The exact reach of each lever depends on the applicable law and any court order; the cited news reports do not provide enough to treat their descriptions as a complete statement of current law.
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