Urooj Niazi 
meta, pta hosts workshop on online safety
PTA and Meta Launch Workshop to Tackle Extremist Content on Social Media
Meta and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) recently held a specialized workshop on ”Counter-Terrorism in the Digital Age.” The workshop looked at the areas where they could work together to improve the handling of extremist material across social media platforms to improve safety and security in the digital landscape for Pakistan. The workshop had stakeholders across the environment. There were representatives from Meta, Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, Pakistan government ministries, law enforcement, and professional experts. Everyone came to engage with, and to improve the future handling of harmful content in digital spaces.
Meta explained its new tools to mitigate threats online
Meta outlined its refreshed policy approach to dealing with materials associated with terrorist acts and violence. They elaborated on the possibility of working alongside law enforcement authorities in Pakistan, via platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp, to report and remove extremist content more effectively.
PTA Chairman Hafeez-ur-Rehman explained:
“Collaboration with tech companies like Meta is necessary to mitigate the exploitation of online engagement by terrorist groups, to sustain the continued protection of digital environments, specifically within Pakistan.”
Growing threats make online safety critical
In recent years in Pakistan, there has been a noticeable increase in incidents of terrorism and militancy, specifically in the country’s western regions. The rise of militant groups such as the TTP, Daesh, and Baloch separatists has begun to utilize social media platforms to promote their ideology, recruit new followers, and radicalize young people (even women) to facilitate acts of terror. Reports have estimated that the number of incidents of militancy doubled from 517 incidents in 2023 to 1,099 incidents in 2024.
