PTA Says Age Limits Need New Social Media Law

PTA says Pakistan’s current law cannot impose a 16-year social media age limit or universal age checks, putting the focus on Parliament for any new framework.

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has told the Islamabad High Court that its existing legal powers do not allow it to impose a minimum age for social media users or require platforms to carry out universal age verification. The position was outlined in a report filed in Writ Petition No. 4163 of 2026. The regulator said Section 37 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), 2016, empowers it to block or remove unlawful online content on specified legal grounds, but does not provide authority to establish a minimum social media age. PTA also said an across-the-board age-verification regime would need a separate legal and regulatory framework. According to the PTA, such a framework would have to determine how ages are verified, which parties handle verification and how users’ identity information is handled. It would also need provisions addressing privacy protections, platform obligations, regulatory audits and penalties, making an administrative order insufficient without specific statutory authority.

The authority further distinguished Pakistan’s legal position from measures introduced elsewhere. It said restrictions adopted by countries including Australia and authorities within the European Union operate under their respective domestic laws and therefore cannot automatically confer equivalent powers on the PTA. The PTA said it can nevertheless continue handling complaints, examining reported online material, engaging with social media platforms and ordering blocking measures where existing law permits. However, establishing 16 as a nationwide minimum age, creating a universal age database or making age verification compulsory would require explicit legislation.