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Pakistan bans TikTok over indecent, immoral content
The Pakistan Telecom Authority (PTA) said a number of complaints from different segments of the society were lodged against the app.
Pakistan announced on Friday that it has banned TikTok after the country’s telecom regulator received complaints against immoral, indecent, obscene and vulgar content hosted on the Chinese-owned video sharing app.
The Pakistan Telecom Authority (PTA) said a number of complaints from different segments of the society were lodged against the app.
PTA earlier issued a final notice to TikTok and gave it “considerable time to respond and comply with” instructions for development of an effective mechanism for proactive moderation of “unlawful online content”.
The move was met with surprise and criticism on social media.
HU Khan, a TikToker, commented, “TikTok was the only way the poor had a voice in the social media revolution that until this platform had largely passed them by. Make no mistake this isn’t a ban on TikTok. It’s a classist ban on the poor & labour working class so they don’t find a collective conscience.”
Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari, daughter of former prime minister Benzir Bhutto tweeted: “Was both surprised & in awe of how much #tiktok picked up in the remotest of places across #Pakistan. Not only could people earn but freely criticise gov policies, rising prices, hypocrisy etc - banning tiktok to protect facade of Khan - reality is people are ready to overthrow!”
The app, owned by China’s ByteDance, has been downloaded almost 39 million times in Pakistan and is the third-most downloaded app over the past year after WhatsApp and Facebook, local media reported citing analytics firm Sensor Tower.
The short video app has a huge user base among young Pakistanis, with some attracting millions of followers.
But it has come up against backlash in the ultra-conservative Islamic country, where in recent months several dating apps including Tinder and Grindr have also been banned and YouTube was threatened with shutdown.
Pakistanis were unable to access the app on Friday evening.
Arslan Khalid, a digital media adviser to Prime Minister Imran Khan, has previously claimed the “exploitation, objectification & sexualisation of young girls on TikTok” was causing pain to parents.
Earlier this week, Pakistani TikToker Jannat Mirza became the first in the country to reach 10 million followers, with lip-syncing and slow motion clips among her content.
“TikTok is a major source of entertainment for lower and middle class Pakistanis, as well as illiterate citizens that includes half the population as it is video based and easy to use,” said Usama Khilji, a digital rights activist, who said the ban violates freedom of speech.
Akhlaq Ahmed, who ran a TikTok account with friends from the remote town of Jhal Magsi in Balochistan province, said the news was like “losing someone from my family”.
“The ban is unfair and unjustified... instead of banning the app the PTA should have called on TikTok to ban those users,” he said of the “immoral” content.
Campaigners have long criticised the creeping censorship and control of Pakistan’s internet, printed and electronic media.
PTA said it would review its decision if the app put in place mechanisms to moderate unlawful content.
In a statement, TikTok said it was “hopeful to reach a conclusion that helps us serve the country’s vibrant and creative online community.”
The app was blocked in Bangladesh last year as part of a clampdown on pornography, while Indonesia briefly blocked access over blasphemy concerns.
It has also faced increasing controversy over how it collects and uses data although it has repeatedly denied sharing user information with Chinese authorities.
The app is facing a possible ban in the US, after officials said it was a national security risk and President Donald Trump said he wanted it taken out of Chinese hands.
India has already banned the app, along with dozens of other Chinese mobile platforms, following a border standoff with China.
(With inputs from Agencies)
