LAHORE (MNN); More than one million web links and URLs have been blocked across Pakistan for disseminating illegal and inappropriate digital material, according to a report submitted by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to the Lahore High Court.
The report showed that social media platforms Facebook and TikTok faced the highest enforcement actions. On Facebook, nearly 229,000 links were scrutinised, out of which around 197,000 were blocked. Instagram saw the review of about 43,000 URLs, with nearly 38,000 blocked.
TikTok recorded the most stringent action, as authorities examined over 174,000 links and blocked more than 163,000 videos, reflecting a blocking rate of about 94 percent, the highest among all platforms.
According to the report, more than 72,000 links were reviewed on YouTube, with over 64,000 blocked. On X, formerly Twitter, around 112,000 links were examined and 70,800 were blocked, resulting in the lowest blocking rate of about 62 percent. On other digital platforms, nearly 898,000 links were reviewed, of which around 891,000 were blocked.
Overall, the PTA blocked more than 1.4 million links and URLs for reasons including contempt of court, obscenity, anti-religious material, proxy-related content, hate speech and material directed against the state. Obscene and immoral content accounted for the largest share, with over 1.06 million links blocked.
The report added that around 148,000 links were blocked for targeting the state and national defence, while more than 109,000 links were removed for anti-religious content. Sectarian and hate-based material led to the blocking of about 76,000 links, whereas defamation and fake identity-related content accounted for the lowest number of removals.
The PTA stated that these measures were taken under existing laws to prevent the spread of unlawful digital content and to promote a safer online environment.
