Shaza Fatima Khawaja called for the establishment of international laws to shield children from the negative impacts of online environments during the “Safe Scroll: Protecting Our Children Online” event on 12 October. Between 20 and 25 member states of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) are currently evaluating legal frameworks to regulate how children access social media and the internet.
Australia, Malaysia, and Thailand are already implementing measures to govern children's digital activities. Major technology firms and digital platforms must assume responsibility for monitoring content and verifying ages using artificial intelligence and other sophisticated technologies.
The Ministry of IT launched the “Safe Raho” programme in partnership with Google to address these concerns. A joint initiative involving Telenor and the National Cyber Crime Research Centre (NCRC) provided digital safety training to 12,500 students, parents, and teachers across 100 public schools.
Collaboration with Meta has led to progress in introducing more rigorous AI-based controls for accounts belonging to children. The “Junior Cyber Heroes” initiative was introduced through a partnership between PK-CERT and UNICEF.
Pakistan's proposed National Cyber Security Policy and Personal Data Protection Bill focus on child privacy, data protection, and creating a framework for parental digital consent. Approximately 25 million children in Pakistan remain out of school.
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and other government bodies are working to increase cyber education and awareness.
