Social media companies are facing growing scrutiny worldwide over concerns that their platforms are contributing to a mental health crisis among children. PHOTO: PEXELS
ISLAMABAD:
Just over a decade ago, social media was widely celebrated for changing the way people connect, learn and communicate. Today the conversation has changed.
As smartphones and social media become deeply integrated into everyday life, governments around the world are increasingly debating how to protect children from harmful content, cyberbullying and excessive screen time.
One proposal that is gaining ground is to restrict access to social media for minors, especially those under 16.
Pakistan has now entered that debate. A resolution recently moved in the Punjab Assembly calling on the federal government to restrict social media accounts of children under 16 without verified parental consent is the latest in a series of attempts to regulate the online activity of minors.
It follows similar efforts in the Senate and the courts over the past year, none of which has yet resulted in binding legislation.
MPA Sarah Ahmad, who chairs Punjab’s Child Protection and Welfare Bureau, wants the federal government to legislate four measures: a ban on social media accounts for children under 16 without verified parental consent, an age verification system for the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), legal obligations on platforms to quickly remove harmful content from parents and teacher campaigns.
However, since telecommunications and internet regulation fall within the federal legislative domain, the Punjab Assembly resolution is advisory rather than binding. Any nationwide restrictions would therefore require federal legislation.
However, Pakistan has already tried this twice.
In July 2025, the Senate introduced the Social Media (Age Restriction of Users) Bill 2025. It proposed to bar under-16s from platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, to impose fines of up to Rs 5 million. millions on non-compliant platforms and jailing adults who helped minors open accounts. The bill also empowered the PTA to delete existing minor accounts. Weeks later, however, it was quietly withdrawn after stakeholders argued that the proposed age limit and penalties were too rigid. Senators promised a softer, revised version, but it never resurfaced.
The issue returned to the Senate on 16 January 2026 when some senators raised it again through a call for attention, this time proposing restrictions on under-18s instead of under-16s. The government’s response was to propose setting up a committee. No formal legislation followed.
Meanwhile, the courts have been pressing the issue more actively than Parliament. Two petitions are currently pending.
In Lahore, a petition filed by an eighth-grade student prompted Chief Justice Aalia Neelum to direct a law clerk to seek government instructions and report back by mid-February. No public outcome of that consultation has since emerged.
In Islamabad, a petition filed by a 12-year-old got the Islamabad High Court to order the PTA and the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) to submit a report by March 3 on age verification mechanisms and progress towards establishing a proposed Social Media Protection and Regulatory Authority. But when no one appeared at the hearing, the case was adjourned until April 20. Neither case has since yielded a public decision.
Pakistan is not alone in debating social media age limits, but countries have taken different approaches.
Australia has taken the toughest stance, banning social media accounts for under-16s and putting the onus on platforms to prevent underage users from accessing their services through age assurance measures. Indonesia and Malaysia have also moved toward stricter restrictions, while China has gradually tightened minors’ access to digital platforms over the past several years.
Others have chosen a less restrictive approach. Brazil is calling for stronger parental involvement and age verification rather than an outright ban, while several European countries are still debating similar legislation. France’s proposal has, for example, drew scrutiny from the European Commission regarding its compatibility with EU law, highlighting the legal and practical challenges of regulating children’s access to social media.
Pakistan currently sits in the same “under discussion” category as India, Germany, Canada and Nigeria, behind countries that have already passed or passed such laws. But would such a proposal be useful in Pakistan?
Social development activist Syed Ali Abbas Zaidi, who has worked on digital policy, is skeptical that such a measure would significantly improve the situation given Pakistan’s digital infrastructure. He argues that without a robust age-preserving privacy protection system, enforcement would be easy to circumvent through false age declarations, VPNs or shared accounts.
In his view, account-level bans have limited value. While they may reduce access for some children, they do not address the root causes of cyberbullying, harmful content or excessive use of social media, and may instead push young users towards less regulated platforms. He argues that the more effective approach lies in stronger platform accountability, age-appropriate design, parental controls and digital literacy rather than a hard age threshold.
