Under Section 25 of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority Ordinance 2002, a licence is required for broadcast media and distribution services. These licences cannot be granted to:
- A person who is not a citizen of Pakistan or a resident in Pakistan;
- A foreign company organised under the laws of any foreign government;
- A company the majority of whose shares are owned or controlled by foreign nationals or companies whose management or control is vested in foreign nationals or companies; or
- Any person funded or sponsored by a foreign government or organisation.

According to the Import Policy Order 2016 issued under the Imports and Exports (Control) Act 1950, all products which are of Indian or Israeli origin or imported from India or Israel are banned entry into Pakistan except therapeutic products regulated by the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan.

The indicator "6.2.4 - Government Internet shut down in practice" of the V-Dem Dataset, which measures whether the government has the technical capacity to actively make internet service cease, thus interrupting domestic access to the internet or whether the government has decided to do so, has a score of 3 in Pakistan. This corresponds to "Rarely but there have been a few occasions throughout the year when the government shut down domestic access to Internet."

According to Section 37 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016 (PECA), online dissemination of any information that intimidates or harms the reputation of the Federal or Provincial Government or any person holding public office or attempting to “excite disaffection towards” the government would be seen as a threat to ‘integrity, security, and defense of Pakistan” and would be removed or blocked.

It is reported that in April 2021, Pakistan blocked access to popular social media such as Twitter and Facebook against France over caricatures of the prophet Muhammad in the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. The French embassy in Pakistan also advised all French nationals and companies to temporarily leave the country, after violent anti-France protests paralyzed large parts of the country.

It is reported that Pakistan imposes an identity requirement for SIM registration. Anyone wanting to purchase a SIM card has to provide their national ID card, or a passport in case of foreigners, to activate a new prepaid SIM card. In addition, SIM cards cannot be activated without biometric identification

According to Art. 7.5 of the Removal and Blocking of Unlawful Online Content (Procedure, Oversight and Safeguards) Rules 2020, Significant Social Media Companies have to deploy mechanisms to ensure immediate blocking of live streaming of any online content related to terrorism, hate speech, among others. According to Art. 2 of the law, Significant Social Media Company means and includes a Social Media Company with more than half million users in Pakistan or is in the list specially notifies by the Authority for this purpose from time to time

It is reported that in the period from June 2019 to May 2020, the government authorities continued shutting off internet connectivity in major cities and other areas. Around 900,000 websites have been blocked, including those hosting political, religious, and social content.

Section 31 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act discusses “expedited preservation and acquisition of data”. It allows an authorized agent to require a person to hand over data without producing a court warrant if it is believed that it is “reasonably required” for a criminal investigation. This can be termed as a blanket authorization provision that gives the executive direct authority to take action without any judicial oversight or scrutiny. In addition to this, no test as to what amounts to a reasonable requirement is provided in the section. This is problematic because the lack of requisite checks and balances affords the executive a discretionary power that can be used to violate fundamental rights.
Section 35 provides law enforcement officers various powers relating to information systems. One of these is a power to require any person who is in possession of “decryption information of an information system, device or data under investigation” to grant the officer access to such data, device or information system “in unencrypted or decrypted intelligible format” for the purposes of investigating the offence.
Section 39 allows for "Real-time collection and recording" of data: "[i]f a Court is satisfied on the basis of information furnished by an authorised officer that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the content of any information is reasonably required for the purposes of a specific criminal investigation, the Court may order, with respect to information held by or passing through a service provider, to a designated agency as notified under the Investigation for Fair Trial Act 2013 or any other law for the time being in force having capability to collect real time information, to collect or record such information in real-time coordination with the investigation agency for provision in the prescribed manner."

The Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) establishes a safe harbour regime for intermediaries for copyright infringements. According to Art. 38 of the PECA, there is a civil or criminal liability limitation for service providers for content posted by users, unless it is proven that the service provider had “specific actual knowledge and willful intent to proactively and positively participate” in cybercrimes committed the Act. However, it is reported that the Removal and Blocking of Unlawful Online Content (Procedure, Oversight, and Safeguards) Rules 2020 passed in November 2020 create new obligations and liabilities for social media companies which can be in contradiction of limitation of intermediary liability provisions for technology companies in PECA.

The Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) establishes a safe harbour regime for intermediaries beyond copyright infringements. According to Art. 38 of the PECA, there is a civil or criminal liability limitation for service providers for content posted by users, unless it is proven that the service provider had “specific actual knowledge and willful intent to proactively and positively participate” in cybercrimes committed the Act. However, it is reported that the Removal and Blocking of Unlawful Online Content (Procedure, Oversight, and Safeguards) Rules 2020 passed in November 2020 create new obligations and liabilities for social media companies which can be in contradiction of limitation of intermediary liability provisions for technology companies in PECA.

Pakistan does not have a comprehensive regime in place for all personal data, but it has sectoral regulation. The Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016 contains some provisions on data protection. It prevents unauthorized acts with respect to information systems and provides for related offences as well as mechanisms for their investigation, prosecution and trial. Under the Act, unauthorized access, copying, interference to information system or data is a punishable offence and shall be punished with imprisonment or fine. In addition, there is some sectoral regulation on data in the banking and telecom sector.

Section 31 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act includes data retention provisions that make it mandatory for service providers to hold traffic data for a one year minimum or as “authorised officers” see fit. Art. 32 states that a service provider shall, within its existing or required technical capability, retain the specified traffic data for a minimum period of one year or such period as the Authority may notify from time to time and, subject to production of a warrant issued by the Court, provide that data to the investigation agency or the authorized officer whenever so required.

Art. 4 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act prohibits the transfer of data without the authorisation of the data owner.

Pakistan has not joined any agreement with binding commitments to open transfers of data across borders.