IHC seeks replies from ministries, Pemra, PTA on plea seeking to regulate children's social media use

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday sought responses from relevant ministries and authorities on a petition seeking a framework to regulate social media use by children under 16 years of age.

The plea, filed by petitioner Waqas Nasir through advocates Muhammad Jalal Haider and Yahya Farid Khawaja earlier this month, seeks legislation on the matter and the introduction of an effective age-verification mechanism for social media accounts.

It was taken up by IHC Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfaraz Dogar, who 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) and directed them to submit their replies within 15 days.

During the hearing, Advocates Haider and Khawaja appeared before the court.

Advocate Haider argued that an effective age-verification mechanism should be introduced for social media accounts operated by children. He contended that legislation was urgently required to protect children from cyberbullying, online harassment, harmful and inappropriate content and other risks associated with the use of social media platforms.

The lawyer argued that safeguarding the best interests of children was a “constitutional and legal responsibility of the state” and that the government should introduce effective legislation in line with international practices.

When Justice Dogar enquired whether Pemra had any law dealing with the issue, Advocate Haider said Pemra had legal powers to take action against a person on the basis of a complaint, but currently, there was no specific legislation regulating children’s access to social media.

The IHC CJ further asked whether any law had so far been enacted specifically for this purpose, to which the lawyer replied in the negative.

Subsequently, Justice Dogar issued notices to the relevant ministries and authorities, seeking their responses within 15 days.

The court also directed the law officer to ensure implementation of the notices.

The plea

In his petition, Nasir urged the court to direct the government to formulate a comprehensive legal and regulatory framework for the online protection of children, including special safeguards governing their access to social media.

The plea contended that children were increasingly exposed to the harmful effects of social media, including cyberbullying, online harassment, and inappropriate or harmful content, requiring the state to introduce a comprehensive legal and regulatory mechanism for their protection.

The petitioner urged the court to direct the government to formulate a policy covering digital rights, privacy, and mental and physical safety of children, and to impose specific responsibilities on social media platforms to safeguard minors online.

The plea stated that several countries around the world had already introduced age restrictions and safety measures for children’s use of social media and contended that legislation in this connection would be part of an emerging international trend for protecting children in the digital environment.

It relied on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and General Comment No. 25, arguing that protecting the best interests of children was not merely a policy objective but a legal obligation of the state.

The matter had also come into the limelight in the Punjab Assembly last month, when a resolution was submitted for a nationwide ban on social media accounts for children under the age of 16 without parental consent.

The resolution, moved by MPA Sarah Ahmad, urged the provincial government to recommend to the federal government to introduce comprehensive legislation to regulate children’s access to social media platforms and strengthen online safety measures.