Pakistan’s Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has blocked more than 1.54 million URLs over the past decade as part of an ongoing crackdown on inappropriate and unlawful content on social media. The campaign is aimed at promoting a safer online environment for internet users across Pakistan.
According to the report, the action rate against objectionable material has reached 90 per cent. More than 1,065,000 URLs containing content against moral and ethical standards were blocked. The breakdown by platform is as follows:
- 230,000 links blocked on Facebook
- 170,000 links blocked on Tiktok
- Over 74,000 links blocked on X
- Over 66,000 URLs blocked (blocking rate of 88.6 percent) on YouTube
- 50,000 URLs blocked on Whatsapp
- Over 45,000 URLs blocked on Instagram
The PTA also targeted content threatening national security. More than 141,000 URLs related to terrorism were blocked, alongside over 74,000 URLs found to be against national security and defence. Separately, 112,482 URLs containing content against Islam were removed.
In addition, more than 52,000 URLs linked to sectarianism and hate speech were blocked. The authority carried out strict action against proxy websites as well, achieving a near-total blocking rate of 99.99 percent.
During the period under review, the PTA processed more than 1.7 million complaints in total. Of these, over 76,000 complaints are still under review, while more than 100,000 requests were rejected outright.
The data underscores the scale of Pakistan’s ongoing efforts to regulate online content, as the PTA continues to expand its monitoring and enforcement operations across major digital platforms.
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