Lawmakers in Punjab submitted on Wednesday a proposal seeking a nationwide ban on social media accounts of children under the age of 16 years.
The resolution, submitted by Sarah Ahmed, seeks to urge the provincial government to recommend to the federal government to introduce comprehensive legislation to regulate children’s access to social media platforms for their own safety.
The resolution states that the protection of children’s physical, mental, psychological and moral development is both a constitutional and moral responsibility of the state. It also mentioned that unrestricted access to social media has exposed children to cyber bullying, sexual exploitation, psychological distress and digital addiction.
The resolution calls upon the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority to enforce age-verification systems across all social media platforms sites. And it also seeks to make social media companies responsible for complying with child protection standards by requiring them to remove harmful content from their sites.
The resolution also recommends that federal and provincial departments launch sustained awareness campaigns for parents, teachers, and children to promote digital literacy, online safety and responsible use of the internet.
In July 2025, Pakistan Senate had introduced the ‘Social Media (Age Restriction for Users) Bill, 2025‘ with the purpose to ban individuals under the age of 16 from using social media.
The bill, presented by Senator Sarmad Ali and Senator Masroor Ahsan, proposed penalities for violations. Social media platforms found to be allowing underage users were to be fined from Rs50,000 to Rs5million, while people who assisted minors in creating accounts could face up to six months in jail.
The bill was passed in the Senate with 34 votes in favour and 19 against it but no further updates were made on the passing the bill in the National Assembly.
