Islamabad: (RightNow). The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) informed the Islamabad High Court that there is no law restricting social media use for children under 16. PTA stated that due to the absence of such a law, they cannot establish an age verification system.

PTA’s response highlighted the need for a new legal policy framework to restrict social media use for children under 16. PTA submitted its detailed response to the court on Thursday. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Ministry of Interior, and National Commission on the Rights of Child also submitted their responses.

PTA mentioned that its authority to block illegal online content is limited, and a Social Media Protection Authority is being established under the PECA Amendment 2025. This authority will soon address complaints about illegal content and fraud.

According to PTA, over 1.789 million illegal online links have been reviewed, and more than 1.577 million URLs have been blocked. The overall rate of blocking online content is 88.20%.

It is noteworthy that social media companies are not registered in Pakistan and are not bound by local laws. PTA is conducting awareness campaigns with UNICEF, TikTok, Meta, and GSMA for child protection.