IHC Takes Up Plea to Regulate Under-16 Children’s Social Media Use

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has sought responses from relevant federal ministries and regulatory authorities on a petition seeking regulation of social media use by children under the age of 16.

Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfaraz Dogar heard the petition and issued notices to the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Law and Justice, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra).

The court directed the respondents to submit their replies within 15 days and also instructed the law officer to ensure implementation of the notices.

The petition was filed by Waqas Nasir through advocates Muhammad Jalal Haider and Yahya Farid Khawaja.

Petitioner Seeks Age-Verification System

During the hearing, Advocate Haider argued that an effective age-verification mechanism should be introduced for social media accounts operated by children. He submitted that specific legislation was needed to provide greater online safeguards for minors.

Chief Justice Dogar asked whether Pemra had any law specifically dealing with children’s access to social media. The counsel replied that while Pemra had certain legal powers, there was currently no specific legislation regulating children’s access to social media platforms.

The petition seeks a comprehensive legal and regulatory framework covering children’s online protection, digital rights, privacy and safety, along with specific responsibilities for social media platforms.

It also asks the government to consider age-verification measures for social media accounts used by children.

The court will proceed further after receiving responses from the ministries and regulatory authorities.