Pakistan’s federal government says it will soon activate its dedicated social media regulator, the Social Media Protection and Regulatory Authority (SMPRA), as online regulation and cybersecurity move up the official agenda. Federal Minister for Information Technology Shaza Fatima Khawaja made the announcement on 29 October at the closing ceremony of Cybersecurity Awareness Week, where she stressed better awareness, stronger incident reporting and safer digital systems as the country digitises.

What the new authority is meant to do

The authority was created under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes (Amendment) Act, 2025, to regulate social media platforms, promote online safety and act against unlawful content. Its first chairman, Ayaz Shaukat, was appointed in March 2026, but the minister’s latest remarks gave no specific date for when the body will become fully operational. The minister also said the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) has been activated under the same law, which separates cybercrime investigation from the new regulator’s platform-facing role.

Why the timing matters

The announcement comes amid official concern about misinformation, online scams, harmful content and platforms’ compliance with local rules, and in the same week that a Meta digital safety summit in Islamabad focused on protecting children and young people online. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has previously pointed to limited technical resources, a shortage of trained staff and coordination problems between institutions as weaknesses in the current approach. How SMPRA will divide work with the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority and the NCCIA, and how complaints about content will be handled in practice, remains unclear until the government publishes its operational plan — so for now, the story is a promise of activation, not yet a functioning regulator.

Sources: Bloom Pakistan; NetMag Pakistan.