Pakistan explores social media ban for users under 16

The Pakistan Senate has introduced a new bill aimed at banning social media access for those under the age of 16. The bill was introduced during the Senate meeting on Monday, July 21, alongside other key pieces of legislation.

Here’s what you need to know about the proposed plan.

Safer online communities

The bill is largely aimed at making online social media interactions safer for teens. Some key concerns brought to the table include issues like cyberbullying, screentime addiction, inappropriate content, and more.

The proposal, entitled the Social Media (Age-Restricted Users) Bill 2025, was spearheaded by Senators Syed Masroor Ahsan and Sarmad Ali. Ahsan addressed the Senate regarding the bill, emphasising that such legislation is necessary to protect young users online and noted that other major nations like Australia and New Zealand have introduced similar policies.

Although no specific platforms have been outlined, most popular social media networks will likely be asked to enforce the policy. In fact, the bill summarises that platforms that fail to comply with the new regulations may face fines starting from Rs 50,000 to Rs 5 million.

While these are the penalties for social media platforms, specific individuals who violate the policy (such as by helping minors create accounts) may face jail time for up to six months.

If and when the policy goes into effect, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) will act as the decision-making committee responsible for setting specific guidelines and enforcing the policy. For instance, the PTA will take charge of deleting all existing social media accounts of under age users.

Currently, the bill has been referred to the committee for further decisioning after receiving initial approval by Chairman Senate, Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani.

Not the first

While this proposal is one way of making online communities safer for minors, it may face potential criticism for being overly restrictive.

However, Pakistan is not the first nation to introduce such a policy. Many other countries worldwide have held similar discussions after witnessing the potential dangers of social media on the youth population. This comes despite the fact that most social media platforms have a minimum user age requirement of 13, but it is not always followed correctly as the policy is easy to bypass.

In fact, Australia approved a similar under-16 ban for social media last year. While the Australian bill received the green light in 2024, the policy won’t go into effect until December 2025 where the real results of the project can be measured.