The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has told the Islamabad High Court (IHC) that it does not have the legal authority to impose mandatory age verification or introduce a minimum age requirement for social media users.
The authority made the statement in a detailed report submitted to the court in response to a petition seeking restrictions on social media access for children under 16.
The petition argued that children face growing risks online, including cyberbullying, harassment and exposure to inappropriate content, and called for legislation and a comprehensive regulatory framework to protect minors.
The PTA said that although it recognises the need to safeguard children online, introducing a universal minimum age for social media accounts falls outside its existing statutory powers. It maintained that it cannot establish a new age-verification system through administrative measures without specific legal authority.
The authority also highlighted changes introduced under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes (Amendment) Act, 2025. According to the PTA, the new law provides for the establishment of the Social Media Protection and Regulatory Authority (SMPRA), which is expected to take over regulation of social media platforms.
Until SMPRA is formally notified, the PTA said it continues to perform its existing functions under the relevant legal framework on a “best-efforts basis”.
The authority also pointed to technical difficulties in regulating major platforms such as Facebook, Google and X, which operate as over-the-top services and are not licensed by the PTA in Pakistan.
It said encrypted HTTPS connections make it difficult to block individual URLs without potentially disrupting access to legitimate content across an entire platform.
The PTA further noted that artificial intelligence was creating additional challenges for digital regulation as online interactions and content continue to evolve rapidly.
Despite these challenges, the authority said it had processed more than 17 million URLs, with around 88.20 per cent blocked. It also highlighted awareness initiatives conducted with organisations and technology companies to promote digital literacy and online safety for children.
The PTA has asked the court to dismiss the petition insofar as it seeks measures beyond the authority’s existing legal mandate, maintaining that it cannot prescribe a minimum social media age of 16 without a specific statutory provision.
