A petition submitted to the Federal Constitutional Court seeks restrictions on social media use by children under 16 and stronger safeguards against harmful and inappropriate content across media platforms. Lawyers Sheraz Zaka and Moin Akhtar have called for mandatory age verification and stricter content regulation to protect minors.
The petition raises concerns over children’s exposure to cyberbullying, addictive platform design, sexual content and the depiction of alcohol, arguing that such content could adversely affect their mental and moral development. It states that the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), 2016, does not currently contain specific restrictions for users under 16.
Citing measures adopted in countries including Australia, Italy and Brazil, the petitioners argued that similar safeguards should be introduced in Pakistan.
They also accused the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) of failing to adequately enforce its code of conduct, particularly regarding intimate scenes and alcohol-related content during child-viewing hours.
The petition names the federal government through the Ministry of Law and Justice, Ministry of Information Technology, National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA), PEMRA and Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) as respondents. It seeks amendments to PECA 2016, stricter enforcement of PEMRA’s content standards during child-viewing hours and cooperation with social media platforms to introduce effective parental controls.
The petitioners also invoked constitutional protections and Pakistan’s commitments under the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
