Islamabad: The Islamabad High Court has (IHC) on Wednesday issued notices to the Ministry of IT, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Law, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Information, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) on a petition seeking regulation of social media use by children under the age of 16.
The court has directed the respondents to submit paragraph-wise replies to the petition within 15 days.
Chief Justice IHC Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar issued the written order on a petition filed by citizen Waqas Nasir.
The petitioner has sought directions to the federal government to consider comprehensive legislation for regulating social media use by children and ensuring their online safety.
According to the petition, existing laws address certain cybercrimes, but Pakistan lacks a comprehensive and coordinated legal and regulatory framework specifically aimed at protecting children online, including mechanisms for age verification, parental controls, data protection and digital literacy.
The petitioner contended that due to the regulatory gap, children were exposed to cyberbullying, online exploitation, harmful content, privacy violations and other digital risks.
The petition maintained that the federal government and relevant institutions were legally bound to take appropriate measures for the protection and welfare of children.
It also sought formulation of a national policy providing age-appropriate safeguards, parental monitoring tools, complaint and redress mechanisms, protection of personal information, public awareness initiatives and digital literacy programmes.
The court adjourned further hearing of the case until September 29.
