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Online safety & content laws in Pakistan (2026)

Online safety rules in Pakistan: partial.

Pakistan regulates online content primarily through PECA 2016 and its sweeping 2025 amendments, which criminalise cybercrime, 'fake or false information', and unlawful online content, while creating new enforcement bodies including the SMPRA, Social Media Complaint Council, Social Media Protection Tribunals, and the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency. The framework imposes mandatory platform registration, content-removal obligations, and PTA-administered site and VPN blocking, but lacks the user-welfare, algorithmic-transparency, and risk-assessment architecture of comprehensive laws such as the EU DSA or UK Online Safety Act. A proposed Senate bill to restrict under-16s from social media was introduced and subsequently withdrawn in 2025, with a revised version expected.

Last verified Official sources first · MethodologyCompare Pakistan with other countries

Legal framework

Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016 (PECA) as amended by the Prevention of Electronic Crimes (Amendment) Act 2025; Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA); Social Media Protection and Regulatory Authority (SMPRA, est. 2026)

Key points: internet & online safety in Pakistan

  1. PECA Amendment 2025, core law

    The Prevention of Electronic Crimes (Amendment) Act 2025, signed into law on 29 January 2025, added Section 26A criminalising dissemination of 'false or fake information' causing fear, panic, or unrest, punishable by up to three years' imprisonment and PKR 2 million fine, alongside tightened provisions on cyber harassment, defamation, and hate speech.

    rsilpak.org hrcp-web.org hrw.org

  2. SMPRA, new social media regulator

    PECA 2025 created the Social Media Protection and Regulatory Authority (SMPRA), formally established in March 2026 with Ayaz Shaukat as founding chairman. SMPRA has powers to register platforms, order content removal or geo-blocking, and impose penalties on platforms that do not comply; all domestic and international social media platforms must register.

    techjuice.pk nation.com.pk khalidzafar.com

  3. Platform liability and content-removal duties

    Section 13 of the amended PECA obliges social media platforms to monitor, report, and remove user-generated content that violates Pakistani law. Non-compliant platforms face partial or full blocking until compliance is achieved. Platforms must also appoint local representatives and establish local offices.

    itif.org pakistanlawbot.com

  4. PTA blocking powers and VPN restrictions

    The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority retains broad authority to block websites and services. From December 2025 it began blocking major unregistered VPN services (Proton VPN, NordVPN, ExpressVPN, Surfshark, Cloudflare WARP) under Class Value Added Services (CVAS-Data) licensing rules enforced from November 2025; five local VPN providers received the first licences.

    techradar.com technadu.com

  5. Age-verification / under-16 social media bill, withdrawn

    The Senate introduced the Social Media Age Restriction Bill 2025, modelled on Australia's under-16 ban, which would have required age-verification and barred minors from social media. Following widespread stakeholder objections it was withdrawn in August 2025; a revised bill with a lower age threshold and reduced penalties was expected but had not been re-introduced as of mid-2026.

    loc.gov biometricupdate.com

  6. Civil-society and human-rights concerns

    Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and Pakistan's National Commission for Human Rights have criticised the PECA 2025 amendments as vague and overbroad, warning that provisions on 'fake news' and expanded regulatory powers will chill press freedom and political dissent, noting the law was passed without meaningful stakeholder consultation.

    amnesty.org nchr.gov.pk hrw.org

Sources

  1. rsilpak.org/2025/2025-amendments-to-the-prevention-of-electronic-crimes-act-2016-
  2. hrcp-web.org/hrcpweb/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/2025-LWC10-PECA-Amendment-Act-2025
  3. hrw.org/news/2025/02/03/pakistan-repeal-amendment-draconian-cyber-law
  4. amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2025/01/pakistan-authorities-pass-bill-with-sweeping-c
  5. itif.org/publications/2025/05/16/pakistan-content-moderation-regulation/
  6. techjuice.pk/pakistan-introduces-smpra-new-social-media-authority-for-content-regu
  7. nation.com.pk/20-Mar-2026/govt-establishes-first-ever-social-media-regulatory-autho
  8. khalidzafar.com/functions-of-social-media-protection-and-regulatory-authority/
  9. pakistanlawbot.com/peca-act-pakistan-2025-latest-updates-and-key-provisions/
  10. technadu.com/pakistan-blocks-major-vpn-services-under-new-licensing-rules/617822/
  11. techradar.com/vpn/vpn-privacy-security/pakistan-begins-blocking-unregistered-vpn-ap
  12. loc.gov/item/global-legal-monitor/2025-09-18/pakistan-senate-bill-barring-chi
  13. biometricupdate.com/202507/social-media-age-legislation-in-pakistan-modeled-on-australian
  14. nchr.gov.pk/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/NCHR-Report-on-PECA-and-the-2025-Amendment

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Orientation, not legal advice: verify against the primary sources linked above. Last verified 24 May 2026. Methodology & how to cite · State of Technology Regulation 2026