Constitutional court to hear petition on children's social media access

The Federal Constitutional Court will hear on November 6 a public interest petition seeking restrictions on social media access for children below the age of 16, Dawn reported.

Notices have been issued to the federal government and other respondents to appear before a three-judge bench headed by Justice Aamer Farooq. The other members of the bench are Justice Rozi Khan Barrech and Justice Syed Arshad Hussain Shah.

The petition was first turned down at the registrar's office, which declared it not maintainable. Justice Farooq overruled that decision during a chamber hearing and allowed the petition to proceed, according to Dawn.

The report, filed from Lahore, did not name the petitioner and did not set out the measures sought beyond the stated aim of restricting access for under-16 users. It also did not say which department will represent the federal government in court, or whether the internet and telecom regulator is among the respondents named in the petition.

Until now the matter has been handled in chambers by Justice Farooq alone. The November 6 date takes it before the full three-judge bench for the first time.

Dawn's report gave no indication of the federal government's position on the petition, and no government statement on the case has been carried by the outlet.