New Senate bill poposes social media ban for children under 16

The Senate introduced a bill on Monday, aiming to ban individuals under the age of 16 from creating social media accounts. 

The "Social Media (Age Restriction for Users) Bill 2025" was presented on Monday by Senators Sarmad Ali and Masroor Ahmed, marking a major move to protect minors from online threats.

The bill proposes strict penalties for violations. Social media platforms that allow users below the age limit could face fines ranging from Rs50,000 to Rs5 million. 

Additionally, any individual found helping minors to create accounts may face up to six months in prison.

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) will be given the authority to delete existing accounts of underage users and to draft rules for enforcement.

Read: Meta deletes 10 million Facebook accounts in crackdown on spam, AI-generated content

Senator Sarmad Ali emphasised the need for protecting children in the digital world, and the bill is meant to reduce online exploitation, cyberbullying, and exposure to harmful content. 

It also focuses on raising awareness among parents and children about the risks of the internet.

If passed, the bill would bring Pakistan’s policy closer to those of Australia and New Zealand, where similar restrictions are already in place. 

Australia, for example, passed a law last year banning social media use for anyone under 16, becoming one of the first countries to take such a tough stance.

The Australian parliament passed the bill with 34 votes; however, at least 19 exercised their right to vote against. It now moves forward for further debate and approval.