The Lahore High Court (LHC) has dismissed a petition seeking regulation of streaming platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, ruling that existing laws do not cover digital services of this nature.
Justice Raheel Kamran Shaikh issued a 20-page written verdict on Thursday in response to the petition filed by a private company. The Punjab government, represented by Assistant Advocate General Muhammad Usman Khan, opposed the plea.
The court observed that the Motion Picture Ordinance of 1979 was enacted well before the digital era and applies only to films screened in cinemas. The legislation was designed to ensure that movies released in theaters were subject to content regulation, with no provision for online streaming services, which did not exist at the time.
Following the 18th Constitutional Amendment, the matter of censor boards came under provincial jurisdiction. Each province subsequently enacted its own Motion Picture Act, expanding coverage to television and stage dramas. However, none of the provinces introduced laws to regulate content on social media or streaming platforms.
The judgment highlighted the petitioner’s argument that, as cinema content is monitored under the Motion Picture Ordinance, streaming platforms should also fall under the same framework. The petitioner, who owns a cinema and holds a license to screen films, contended that extending the regulation would ensure uniform content monitoring.
The court rejected this reasoning, noting that millions of hours of content are uploaded on platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, making it practically impossible to censor such material before public availability. The ruling emphasized that if the legislature had intended to regulate streaming platforms, it would have amended the law accordingly.
Justice Shaikh’s verdict made clear that online streaming platforms operate under a fundamentally different model than traditional cinemas. As a result, they cannot be brought under the ambit of laws originally designed for physical film screenings.
The petition was therefore dismissed as being inconsistent with the legal framework.
2 things we don’t care about. They are mainly tools of spying.
Who the shit this type of persons are who file these type of petitions..People should know how to bear anything instead of being conservative..If they don’t like then simply don’t watch instead of giving fatwas
Are people in this country stupid why waste money when you can pirate.
Ghatiya log, ghatiya decisions… Naam ka Islami jamhoriya…
The arguement presented in support of not regulating them because there’s simply so much excess of content is as bad as outright banning the platform.
This just further highlights how little our government (from bureaucracy to judiciary) knows about the internet spaces.
True that you can’t moderate every aspect of internet, but streaming services are much more manageable. You don’t even have to determine for yourself whether a content needs moderation or not, they have tags set in, there are over 50 different boards around the globe monitoring them, take their verdicts which aligns with your own.
Believe me doing this is much better ke koi religious clergy uthe, roula matche or platforms ho ban hojaen, phir behs o mubahse ke religion bad, liberals bad, Kuch Nahi bachna Pakistan Ka etc etc.
Where is the name of case, like PLD, MLD e.t.c
Ohhh, here we go again “The Petition Squad”. Honestly, who are these legends with so much free time that filing complaints is their full-time hobby