Information minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja says governments, technology companies and families must share responsibility for setting limits and reducing children’s exposure to online risks.
Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima Khawaja has urged governments to work towards global rules that would better shield children from the risks of life online. Speaking at the “Safe Scroll: Protecting Our Children Online” event, she argued that children’s engagement with digital technology is rising everywhere and said it is no longer realistic to imagine keeping young users away from the internet altogether.
She said the more pressing question is how much access is appropriate and how much time children should spend on screens, adding that clear limits are now needed. According to the minister, a number of countries, including a group of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development member states, are already weighing new frameworks for children’s use of social media and the internet. She pointed to Australia, Malaysia and Thailand as examples of governments moving in that direction.
Khawaja also said the responsibility cannot rest with states alone. Governments, she argued, are not able to confirm the age of every child online or monitor every interaction. That, she said, leaves major technology firms and digital platforms with a central role in age verification and content moderation, using artificial intelligence and other tools to help identify young users and reduce exposure to harmful material.
In Pakistan, the ministry has already begun building a safety framework around children’s online use. Khawaja said the “Safe Raho” programme, run with Google, focuses on parental controls and family safety. She added that 12,500 students, teachers and parents have received digital safety training in 100 public schools through a joint effort involving Telenor and the National Cyber Crime Research Centre. The ministry has also worked with Meta on tighter AI-based controls for children’s accounts, while the “Junior Cyber Heroes” initiative with PK-CERT and UNICEF is intended to teach children how to recognise and avoid online threats. The broader picture is one of a policy debate that now extends well beyond Pakistan: safety programmes in other countries increasingly combine classroom lessons, parent guidance and practical advice on scams, cyberbullying and sexually exploitative risks, reflecting a shift towards shared responsibility between families, schools, regulators and platforms.
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