In the wake of increasing dangers faced by children using social media sites, the Punjab Provincial Assembly has unanimously approved a resolution for an enforceable law to ban social media accounts for children under the age of 16 years.
The resolution has been moved by Punjab MP and Chairperson of Child Protection Bureau, Sarah Ahmad, who asked the federal government to formulate comprehensive legislation pertaining to access of children to social media sites and coordinate between federal and provincial governments for a mechanism to protect children in the virtual world.
What does the resolution propose?
This resolution does not constitute a blanket ban on social media per se but rather the Punjab Assembly has asked the federal government to enact laws to keep children below 16 years from creating and maintaining their social media accounts.
Some of the major suggestions include restricting access to the social media websites only to those children who get consent from their parents/legal guardians, and there should be a proper system of age verification in place. The resolution also suggests that the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) make sure that any social media website operating in Pakistan is equipped with age verification facilities.
This resolution also suggests that there should be compliance of social media companies with respect to protection of children, filtering out harmful material, and making the social media platform a safe one for kids. It also suggests continuous awareness campaigns for parents, teachers, and children alike.
Why has the Punjab Assembly raised the issue?
The resolution points to growing concerns about the risks children can face through unrestricted access to social media.
According to the resolution, minors are increasingly vulnerable to:
- Cyberbullying
- Online sexual exploitation
- Inappropriate or harmful content
- Psychological stress
- Digital addiction
- Other forms of online abuse and harm
The lawmakers argued that protecting children’s physical, mental, psychological and moral development is a responsibility of the state.
The issue is particularly significant because social media platforms allow children to interact with strangers, encounter material that may not be appropriate for their age and spend extended periods consuming algorithmically recommended content.
The resolution therefore seeks to move beyond simply asking parents to monitor children’s phones and instead calls for a formal regulatory framework involving the government, regulators and social media companies.
The proposal was first submitted in July
The move in the Punjab Assembly is not entirely new.
Sarah Ahmad had submitted the resolution to the provincial assembly in July 2026, when it called for a nationwide restriction on social media accounts for children under 16 without parental consent. At the time, the proposal highlighted cyberbullying, online sexual abuse, inappropriate content, psychological distress and digital addiction among the concerns prompting the demand for legislation.
The July proposal specifically urged the provincial government to recommend that the federal government introduce comprehensive legislation because regulation of telecommunications and digital platforms falls largely within the federal domain.
The resolution passed by the assembly on September 1 has now formally strengthened that call.
PTA and age verification
One of the most important aspects of the proposal is age verification.
Rather than relying entirely on children honestly entering their date of birth when creating an account, the resolution calls for mechanisms that can effectively establish whether a user is under 16.
The PTA has therefore been asked to require social media platforms to implement effective age-verification systems.
This could become one of the most complicated aspects of any future legislation. A system capable of identifying minors would have to balance child protection with privacy and data-protection concerns, particularly if platforms were required to collect additional information to establish a user’s age.
International experience shows that age verification is already becoming a major part of the global debate over children’s social media access.
The issue is also before the Islamabad High Court
The Punjab Assembly’s resolution comes just days after another significant development concerning children’s social media use in Pakistan.
On August 31, 2026, the Islamabad High Court sought responses from relevant ministries and regulatory authorities in a petition seeking a framework to regulate social media use by children under 16.
The petition seeks legislation as well as an effective age-verification mechanism for social media accounts.
The respondents include federal authorities connected with information technology, information and broadcasting, interior, law and justice, as well as the PTA and PEMRA.
The court proceedings indicate that the question of children’s social media access is no longer confined to political discussion; it is also emerging as a matter of legal and regulatory consideration at the federal level.
This is a developing story.
Sources: DAWN, and The Express Tribune.