The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has reported an overall blocking rate of 88.20 percent for URLs submitted to social media platforms for action. According to data presented by PTA, the authority sent 1,789,022 URLs to relevant platforms, of which 1,577,936 were blocked. The figures cover multiple social media platforms and reflect the URL blocking status maintained in PTA’s database. The authority currently maintains a database containing approximately 1.5 million URLs, with their status regularly updated through verification and re-verification.
The data shows that 83,740 URLs remain under review, while 127,346 URLs were rejected. PTA said URLs in its database are frequently checked to identify links that remain accessible, escalate cases where necessary and update their status. The authority examines complaints and reported online content under the applicable legal framework and, where legally authorised, approaches relevant social media platforms or service providers to seek action against unlawful content.
Platform-wise, PTA processed 311,699 Facebook URLs, of which 244,981 were blocked. On Instagram, 58,729 URLs were processed and 46,704 were blocked. For X, formerly known as Twitter, 162,878 URLs were processed, with 78,871 blocked. YouTube accounted for 76,153 processed URLs, of which 66,514 were blocked, while TikTok had 208,268 processed URLs and 184,686 blocked. WhatsApp accounted for 55,414 processed URLs, with 50,165 blocked.
The largest category in the data was classified as Others or Miscellaneous, with 900,222 URLs processed and 891,772 blocked. The figures come as PTA continues to deal with online content regulation within Pakistan’s changing legal and regulatory framework. The authority has also highlighted technical limitations in dealing with individual pieces of content on platforms that use HTTPS encryption, noting that technical blocking can sometimes require blocking an entire website rather than a specific URL. PTA has stated that its authority over social media regulation is transitional following the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Amendment Act 2025, under which a Social Media Protection and Regulatory Authority is being established.
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