New Digital Media Bill targets obscenity and indecency online

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published: 19 August 2025 |  JP Staff Report

The Prevention of Obscenity and Indecency in Digital Media Bill seeks to create a regulatory framework for online content in Pakistan. Introduced by MNA Shahida Rehmani, it aims to protect youth from harmful digital content.

Summary

ISLAMABAD — A private member’s bill tabled in the National Assembly seeks to regulate digital and visual media content in Pakistan, aiming to curb what it terms “obscene and indecent material” that could harm the country’s youth.

The Prevention of Obscenity and Indecency in Digital Media Bill, 2025, introduced by MNA Shahida Rehmani, highlights that the rapid spread of digital platforms—including social media, streaming services, and mobile applications—has made content widely accessible without proper oversight.

“While these platforms offer opportunities for education, expression, and entertainment, they have also facilitated the dissemination of obscene, indecent, and morally injurious content that threatens the ideological foundations of the state, undermines Islamic social values, and negatively impacts public morality—particularly among the youth,” the bill states.

It stresses that no clear regulatory framework currently exists for non-licensed platforms such as over-the-top (OTT) services, user-generated video platforms, and online streaming. Current laws, including the PEMRA Ordinance 2002 and the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016, are described as insufficient to address these challenges.

The draft law proposes creating a new authority to “regulate and monitor digital and visual content to ensure compliance with the provisions of this act.” The authority would be empowered to issue rules, guidelines, directives, and standards for platforms, creators, and service providers, while working with the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to impose technical restrictions where needed.

It further suggests forming a Digital Content Evaluation Board composed of experts from diverse fields to review complaints, referrals, or suo motu cases and recommend blocking, removing, restricting, or categorizing objectionable content.

If passed, the bill would mark Pakistan’s first comprehensive legal framework dedicated specifically to regulating digital and visual media content for obscenity and indecency.