Punjab Assembly passes resolution seeking ban on social media for under-16s

LAHORE: The Punjab Assembly on Tuesday passed a resolution seeking an effective legal ban on social media accounts for children under 16 years of age. The resolution was submitted to the Punjab Assembly in July by the chairperson of the Child Protection Bureau, Sarah Ahmad. It called for effective legislation and a coordinated mechanism between federal and provincial institutions to protect minors from the growing dangers of social media. The resolution noted that social media use was exposing children to cyberbullying, online sexual exploitation, inappropriate content, mental stress and other serious risks. It referred to measures introduced in Australia, France, China and several states of the United States to regulate social media use by underage children, and urged the government to introduce similar effective legal safeguards in Pakistan. The proposal comes at a time when governments around the world are considering stricter regulation of children’s use of social media amid mounting evidence linking excessive online activity with mental health issues, cyber abuse and exposure to harmful content. Several countries, including Australia, besides the EU have recently moved towards