Pakistan reports low social media compliance with extremism removal requests

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi informed the National Assembly that social media platforms are largely failing to comply with government requests to remove extremist and harmful content. According to a written parliamentary response, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) saw a compliance rate of only 23.7 percent, while requests from provincial Counter-Terrorism Departments (CTDs) were met with a 47.1 percent compliance rate.

Platform-specific data revealed significant disparities: Facebook complied with 38.1 percent of requests, X with 7.4 percent, and YouTube with just 1.9 percent. The minister noted that while Punjab accounted for 97.7 percent of CTD requests, provinces such as Sindh and Balochistan recorded no compliance at all.

Beyond platform uncooperativeness, Naqvi identified internal challenges hindering the fight against online extremism, including a shortage of trained analysts, insufficient digital tools, and a lack of a unified monitoring system. These issues arise as militant groups, including the Pakistani Taliban, reportedly intensify their use of media for propaganda and recruitment. While Pakistan has expanded its regulatory powers through cybercrime law amendments, rights organizations have expressed concern that such measures could be used to restrict legitimate expression and target journalists.