By Haneen Abbas
Islamabad: Pakistan issued instructions on Friday to block access to the popular TikTok video-sharing app, citing “immoral, indecent content” posted on the application.
In a statement, the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) stated that it had received a range of complaints against TikTok regarding the quality of the content of the application.
A notice was given to the Chinese-owned App to comply with the instructions for the moderation of “unlawful online content.” In the event of failure to respond to the notifications, the authority issued an order to block the request in the region.
According to media report, TikTok has been downloaded almost 39 million times in Pakistan and is the third-most downloaded app in the country after WhatsApp and Facebook.
In July, Pakistan issued a “final warning” to the short-form video app about explicit content on the site, while the Bigo Live live streaming app was blocked for 10 days for the same reason.
However, TikTok has been told that the Authority is open to engagement and will review its decision subject to a ‘satisfactory process’ of moderate content.
Last month, five online dating / live streaming mobile apps, including Tinder and Grindr, were barred, citing “negative effects of immoral/indecent content streaming through apps.”
PTA also asked YouTube to “immediately block obscene, pornographic, unethical, nude and hate speech material for viewing in Pakistan.”
Critics claim that Pakistan, using recent digital legislation, has tried to curtail freedom of speech on the Internet, to block or order the removal of material considered unethical, as well as news critical to the government and the military.
Pakistan bans TikTok
