Punjab Assembly Seeks Social Media Ban for Children Under 16, Calls for Mandatory Age Verification

The Punjab Assembly has passed a resolution calling for a ban on social media use by children under 16, urging the federal authorities to introduce effective legislation and require social media platforms to implement age-verification mechanisms.

The resolution, moved by government lawmaker Sarah Ahmed, stated that protecting children’s physical, mental and moral development is the responsibility of the state.

The resolution noted that inappropriate content available on social media is exposing children to mental stress and other potential risks, making stronger safeguards necessary to protect minors in the digital environment.

It further cited measures introduced in countries including Australia, France, China and several US states, where laws and restrictions concerning social media use by children have been introduced.

The resolution argued that Pakistan should also enact effective legislation to safeguard the future of children and protect them from risks associated with unrestricted access to social media platforms.

The Punjab Assembly specifically called for the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to introduce an age-verification system for social media platforms.

Under the proposed mechanism, platforms would be required to verify the age of users to prevent children below the proposed age threshold from accessing social media services.

The resolution reflects growing concern among policymakers over children’s exposure to inappropriate digital content and the potential impact of excessive or unregulated social media use on their wellbeing.

The move also places emphasis on the responsibility of technology platforms to establish safeguards for younger users rather than leaving age restrictions solely to parents and families.

The resolution, however, is a call for legislation and regulatory action, rather than by itself constituting a nationwide legal ban on social media use by children under 16.

The demand for age verification also raises the issue of how social media platforms and regulators would verify users’ ages while protecting personal data and privacy.

The resolution calls for Pakistan to follow international examples and develop a regulatory framework aimed at creating a safer digital environment for children.