Pakistan currently has no unified platform for the public to report complaints related to social media content, a gap that has left most affected individuals without a way to flag violations, the Director General of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra), Ikram Barkat, has revealed.
Speaking at a lecture titled “Measuring the Social and Economic Impact of Digital Media: Evidence for Policy,” organised by the Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI), Mr Barkat said the absence of a unified complaint mechanism has left the general public largely unaware of how to raise concerns about digital content.
Ikram Barkat explained that regulatory authority over social media remains divided among several institutions.
He noted that the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), the Ministry of IT and Telecom, and the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) each hold partial jurisdiction, with no single agency tasked with monitoring or redressing social media complaints.
“We have regulatory bodies for print and electronic media, but there is no agency to monitor and redress complaints regarding social media,” Mr Barkat said.
He added that this fragmented structure has contributed to a situation where most people affected by objectionable or harmful digital content do not pursue formal complaints, as no clear channel exists to direct their grievances.
