The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has blocked more than 1.57 million URLs after reviewing nearly 1.79 million links for online violations.
According to data maintained by the telecom regulator, PTA sent 1,789,022 URLs to relevant social media platforms for action. Platforms blocked 1,577,936 of those URLs, producing an overall blocking rate of 88.20 percent.
PTA Tracks Millions of Online URLs
The authority said 83,740 URLs remained under review, while another 127,346 URLs were rejected. PTA maintains a database of around 1.5 million URLs with updated blocking statuses. The regulator also regularly verifies and re-verifies the links.
Through this process, PTA identifies accessible URLs and escalates cases when necessary. It also updates the database based on the latest status of reported links.
The figures cover several major social media platforms and other online services.
TikTok and YouTube Show High Blocking Rates
The platform-wise data shows significant differences in the number of URLs processed and blocked. PTA processed 311,699 Facebook URLs and blocked 244,981. Meanwhile, it processed 58,729 Instagram URLs and blocked 46,704.
For X, formerly known as Twitter, the authority processed 162,878 URLs and blocked 78,871. YouTube recorded 76,153 processed URLs, with 66,514 blocked.
TikTok accounted for 208,268 processed URLs. Of these, PTA reported blocking 184,686. The regulator’s figures show higher blocking rates on TikTok and YouTube than on X.
Other Platforms Account for Most URLs
The largest category appeared under “Others/Misc,” which included 900,222 processed URLs. PTA reported blocking 891,772 URLs in this category. WhatsApp accounted for another 55,414 processed URLs, of which 50,165 were blocked.
The authority said it examines complaints and reported online content under the applicable legal framework.
Where the law allows action, PTA approaches relevant platforms or service providers. It can also use regulatory and technical measures against unlawful online content.
PTA Faces Technical and Regulatory Challenges
The authority has previously highlighted technical limitations in blocking online material. It said HTTPS encryption can make it difficult to block individual pieces of content. As a result, blocking a specific URL can sometimes require blocking an entire website. This approach can also affect access to legitimate material hosted on the same service.
PTA has also told the Islamabad High Court that major social media companies are not registered in Pakistan. The regulator said this creates additional challenges in enforcing local requirements. Meanwhile, PTA continues to work on online safety measures and content regulation within its existing legal powers.
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