LAHORE: The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has informed the Lahore High Court (LHC) that it has blocked more than 1.4 million web links and URLs as part of an ongoing crackdown on “unlawful online content,” amid rising concern over coordinated social media campaigns targeting state institutions, including the superior judiciary.
The disclosure came after the LHC directed the PTA to approach Facebook, X and other social media platforms to ensure the removal of defamatory and contemptuous material aimed at judges. Justice Ali Zia Bajwa issued the directions while hearing a petition alleging a social media smear campaign against members of the judiciary, observing that legal action could be taken in Pakistan even if such content was generated and shared from abroad.
According to a report submitted by the PTA, more than one million links were reviewed and blocked across major social media platforms for hosting unlawful content, with Facebook and TikTok accounting for the highest number of removals.
The PTA reported reviewing around 229,000 Facebook links, of which nearly 197,000 — about 86% — were blocked. TikTok faced the toughest enforcement, with over 174,000 links reviewed and more than 163,000 blocked, reflecting a 94% blocking rate.
On Instagram, 38,000 out of 43,000 reviewed URLs were blocked, amounting to an 87% enforcement rate. On YouTube, authorities examined 72,000 links and blocked more than 64,000.
Meanwhile, over 112,000 links were reviewed on X, with 70,800 blocked — the lowest blocking rate at 62%. On other digital platforms, 891,000 out of 898,000 reviewed links were blocked, showing near-total enforcement at 99%.
The report said the blocked content spanned multiple categories, including contempt of court, obscenity, hate speech, religious violations, proxy services and material deemed to be against the state.
Content classified as being against “decency and morality” accounted for the largest share, with more than 1.06 million links blocked. Another 148,000 links were removed for content considered harmful to Pakistan’s security and defence, while over 109,000 links containing anti-religious material were blocked. More than 76,000 links related to sectarianism and hate speech were also taken down.
The PTA noted that the lowest enforcement rate — 56.7% — was recorded for content involving defamation and fake identities.
