Platforms can be blocked by PTA, but not particular content: The chairman

Hafeezur Rehman, the chairman of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), told the National Assembly Standing Committee on Parliamentary Affairs that although the PTA has the ability to block entire social media platforms, it is not technically capable of removing individual content.

According to him, the only countries that can currently block particular content from a website are the US and Israel.

The PTA chairman emphasized the difficulties in regulating digital platforms during a briefing on measures against offensive and defamatory content.

The ability to register complaints is made available to citizens and government agencies. Through collaboration with social media companies, about 80% of defamatory content is eliminated,” he said.

Rehman also disclosed that in an effort to foster better collaboration, a seven-person delegation from Meta, the parent company of Facebook, is presently based at the PTA office. “There are differences between domestic laws and international guidelines,” he added.

Noting that more than 40 VPN services are currently in use in Pakistan, he acknowledged the continued difficulty of using VPNs to get around content restrictions. “Users circumvent our entire content regulation system when they install VPNs,” he stated.

The chairman also affirmed that, per government directives, social media site X (formerly Twitter) was blocked in February 2024.

Update on cybercrime: More than 500 people arrested for posting defamatory content
The committee was also briefed by the National Cybercrime Investigation Agency (NCCIA), which revealed that, as a result of 349 filed complaints, 554 people have been arrested thus far for disseminating unlawful or defamatory content online. Twelve convictions have come from these cases.

Ali Muhammad Khan, a former federal minister and committee member, expressed grave concerns about offensive content on TikTok, stating: “There is objectionable content being played on TikTok.” Even watching videos with my younger siblings can be difficult at times. What part does the PTA play in stopping this kind of content?

He called on the government to step up platform monitoring and crack down on channels that disseminate pornographic and nudist content.

The PTA chairman responded by telling the committee that although those who violate content in the country are monitored, those who operate from overseas are still hard to catch.

A committee requests a financial crime briefing from the FIA.
The Standing Committee on Parliamentary Affairs has asked the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to provide a thorough briefing on the state of financial crimes in addition to regulating digital content.