The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has told the Islamabad High Court (IHC) that no existing law allows it to ban social media use by children under 16. Responding to a petition seeking restrictions on minors’ social media access, the PTA said it lacks the legal authority to introduce mandatory age verification or impose a minimum age through administrative measures. It argued that a new legal and policy framework is needed to protect children and highlighted existing technical difficulties that would make it difficult to block individual content without potentially shutting down entire websites.