The government may consider banning social media platforms if they do not cooperate with authorities, Minister of State for Law and Justice Barrister Aqeel Malik said on Thursday.
The social media platform X, which around 4.5 million people in Pakistan use, was blocked in February 2024, around 10 days after the general elections.
Speaking on the Dawn News program “Doosra Rukh” in response to a question about a possible ban on former incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan’s X account, Barrister Malik said “investigations are ongoing”.
He added that while the government has contacted X, the platform has shown the least cooperation compared to other social media networks.
Criticising X, the minister said the platform should not operate with double standards. “Posts related to Palestine are removed, and accounts blocked, within 24 hours. Here, we are talking about a matter of terrorism,” he said.
He further noted that the government has issued reminders to social media platforms and warned that those that fail to cooperate or coordinate could face a ban, similar to actions taken by Brazil.
“Brazil’s courts had issued orders, which were then accepted, and a fine of $5.2 million was paid. All content taken out of context was removed,” Barrister Malik said.
X had 22 million users in Brazil before it was blocked on August 30 by Brazilian Supreme Court judge Alexandre de Moraes for failing to comply with a series of court orders aimed at combatting disinformation.
Barrister Aqeel Malik said that today the government issued a reminder, emphasising that it had already warned that these platforms are being used for terrorism, misinformation, and disinformation.
“We have asked them to open offices here in Pakistan, but there has been no response. Some social media platforms are cooperating well, but X is cooperating the least,” he added.
Earlier, on October 4, Barrister Aqeel said that investigations regarding Imran’s X account were ongoing and that contact with the platform was underway.
He added that once further evidence emerges, the measures concerning the possible blocking of Imran’s account will be revealed.
