More than one million web links and URLs have been blocked across Pakistan for spreading illegal digital content, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) informed the Lahore High Court, as the court heard a case related to an alleged social media campaign against its judges.
In a report submitted to the court, the PTA detailed wide-ranging action taken against unlawful online material on major social media and digital platforms. According to the report, around 197,000 links on Facebook were blocked, while approximately 38,000 links were restricted on Instagram.
The authority said it carried out its strictest crackdown on TikTok, where more than 163,000 video links were blocked, accounting for about 94 percent of the reported content on the platform. The PTA also blocked over 72,000 links on YouTube and 70,800 links on X, formerly known as Twitter.
In addition, nearly 891,000 links were blocked across other digital platforms. Overall, the PTA reported that more than 1.4 million links and URLs containing content related to contempt of court, obscenity, material deemed offensive to religion, proxy usage, and hate speech were restricted.
The LHC has taken the report on record as part of the ongoing proceedings in the case.
