Social Media Platforms Complied With 23.7% of Pakistan’s PTA Requests

Social media companies complied with 23.7% of requests submitted by Pakistan’s Telecommunication Authority (PTA), according to a written reply by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi to the National Assembly.

The reply also put compliance with requests from Counter-Terrorism Departments (CTDs) at 47.1%. The figures were reported as part of the government’s response to questions about counterterrorism measures and efforts to address online content.

Platform-level figures cited in coverage of the reply showed compliance rates of 7.4% for X, 1.9% for YouTube and 38% for Facebook. These are reported request-compliance rates; the available reporting does not specify how many requests were made to each platform or the period they cover.

The figures therefore offer a limited view of how platforms responded to requests from Pakistani authorities. They do not establish how many individual posts were involved, why requests were declined or whether the material was unlawful. The government’s stated reasons and characterisation of the content should also be distinguished from an independent assessment of that content.

The reply puts the reported compliance rate for CTD requests above the rate for PTA requests. Without the underlying request totals and time period, however, the percentages cannot show the overall scale of removals or support a like-for-like comparison between platforms.

The figures add to ongoing debate over how governments and social media companies handle requests to remove online material, including how such requests are reviewed and what information should be disclosed about them.