Pakistan’s newly established Social Media Protection and Regulatory Authority has begun the process of developing comprehensive rules to govern online content across digital platforms in the country, marking an operational shift for a regulatory body that was formally constituted less than a month ago. The government established the Social Media Protection and Regulatory Authority under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Amendment Act, 2025, with the regulatory body drawing its operational powers from Section 2D of the Act. The authority holds a strict mandate to address false, misleading, and harmful content on social media platforms, with affected individuals able to file complaints directly, and the law binding the authority to issue orders within 24 hours of receiving a report. The speed of that 24-hour window represents a significant departure from previous enforcement timelines, under which content removal could take days to action.
The authority has been granted sweeping powers that include promoting, incentivizing, and facilitating social media platforms; regulating unlawful or offensive content accessible from Pakistan; managing the enlistment of social media platforms; and granting, renewing, refusing, suspending, and revoking the enlistment of a social media platform. It also has the power to partially or fully block a social media platform if it fails to comply with the provisions of the law until compliance is achieved. The scope of content subject to removal or blocking is defined broadly under the legislation. The authority can issue directions against content that is against the ideology of Pakistan, incites the public to violate the law or take it into their own hands with a view to coerce, intimidate or terrorize public, individuals, groups, communities, government officials and institutions, or incites the public to cause damage to governmental and private property.
The Social Media Protection and Regulatory Authority functions as an autonomous corporate body headquartered in Islamabad, with powers covering licensing, content oversight, and enforcement actions against platforms. Advocate General Islamabad Ayaz Shaukat was appointed as its first chairman for a five-year term, with five members also notified including Sohail Iqbal Bhatti, Adnan Khan, Muhammad Salman Zafar, Fahad Malik, and Muhammad Saad Ali. The legislation also introduces criminal penalties of up to three years imprisonment and fines of up to two million rupees for individuals who disseminate information considered false or fake that could cause fear, panic, or unrest.
The authority’s launch and its move to formalize rules has drawn a mixed response. Media and free-expression advocates have warned that the authority’s broad and rapid powers could enable overreach and may have implications for digital journalism and public discourse. Supporters, meanwhile, argue that Pakistan’s rapidly expanding digital landscape, with over 70 percent of youth actively using social media and cybercrime cases on the rise, necessitates a more structured and responsive regulatory framework. The Social Media Protection and Regulatory Authority’s work on formal rules will be closely watched by technology companies, journalists, civil society groups, and digital rights advocates as it defines the practical boundaries of online expression in Pakistan going forward.
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