Islamabad, Jan 16, 2026: The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has identified obscene and immoral material as the most common violation during its nationwide crackdown on illegal digital content, according to a report submitted to court here.
The PTA blocked more than 1.06 million web links and URLs containing immoral and obscene content, making it the largest category of unlawful material removed from online platforms.
The authority said it actively monitors major social media platforms, including Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and X (formerly Twitter), where users share most of the objectionable content. The PTA took its toughest action against TikTok, reviewing over 174,000 links and blocking more than 163,000 videos, achieving a 94 percent blocking rate, largely due to immoral material.
On Facebook, the PTA reviewed 229,000 links and blocked nearly 197,000 for violating moral and legal standards. The authority examined 43,000 Instagram URLs and blocked 38,000 of them, recording an 87 percent success rate. On YouTube, the PTA reviewed 72,000 links and blocked more than 64,000 videos hosting inappropriate content.
The report stated that the PTA conducted the crackdown to protect societal values and curb the spread of unethical material online. The authority said obscene and immoral content poses serious social harm and, therefore, remains its top enforcement priority.
While the PTA also took action against anti-religious, anti-state, sectarian and hate-based content, the report confirmed that immoral material dominated the list of violations nationwide.
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