Social Media Companies Are Ignoring PTA

Social media firms have not registered with the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) despite being asked to comply with regulatory requirements in October 2021.

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• PTA Tells Users to Enable This Setting on Phones.
• The PTA disclosed this in a report submitted to the Islamabad High Court.
• The requirements included registration with the PTA and appointing a local compliance and grievance officer.

In practice, the PTA disclosed this in a report submitted to the Islamabad High Court.

As the report notes, the authority had asked social media firms in October 2021 to comply with Rule 7 of the Removal and Blocking of Unlawful Online Content Rules, 2021. PTA Tells Users to Enable This Setting on Phones.

Notably, the requirements included registration with the PTA and appointing a local compliance and grievance officer. Nevertheless, PTA stated it has not received an affirmative response from the firms so far.

For context, the authority remarked social media platforms are generally not licensed by the telecom regulator. While the firms operate under their own community guidelines and have systems for users and governments to report content, their services are hosted through over-the-top (OTT) platforms.

According to PTA additionally, social media content and its availability can differ from one country to another, creating regulatory challenges.

It remarked platforms that are not registered with the PTA do not come directly under its control. Nevertheless, the authority continues to engage with the businesses and seek their cooperation on content-related problems.

PTA remarked its responsibilities include receiving complaints, reviewing noted unlawful online content and taking regulatory or technical action where permitted by law. PTA Notes Blocking Selective Content on Social Media is Challenging.

According to The authority further, the existing legal framework does not offer it unrestricted power to set a minimum age for social media users or require age-verification systems without specific legal authority. Stay Connected with ProPakistani.

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For now, social Media Companies Are Ignoring PTA remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.