Pakistan has banned Chinese social media app TikTok for failing to filter out “immoral and indecent” content, the country’s telecommunications authority said.
According to Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) on Friday said the conservative islamic state reached at this decision after a number of complaints from sections of the public attacking the app over contents that is contrary to Islamic teachings.
Therefore, directions were issued for blocking of TikTok application in the country.”
PTA stressed that there is an open room to review decision by the gov’t subject to a satisfactory mechanism by TikTok to moderate unlawful content.
Reports indicates that gov’t had in July issued a “final warning” to the short-form video app over explicit content posted on the platform but in stead the regulators kept a deaf ear.
The App has has received global accusations over explicit content, security and privacy and is currently being ly scrutinized in states from Australia to the United States.
Countries such as India have aalready blocked the usage of the App within the country.
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has directed the telecommunications authorities to make all efforts to block content deemed vulgar in the conservative country.
Other Apps which have so far been blocked in Pakistan include; Bigo Live, YouTube and online dating app Tinder due to promoting vulgar and hate speech.
The Pakistan Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016, gives PTA mandates to regulate, among other things, content on the internet and powers to block content considered to be against “the glory of Islam or the integrity, security or defence of Pakistan or … public order, decency or morality”.
Over 800,000 websites and social media platforms are estimated to have been blocked from being accessed within the Pakistan. This has been done to limit the circulation of pornographic contents, and materials considered critical of the country’s security and foreign policies.
Background
TikTok, known in China as Douyin, is a Chinese video-sharing social networking service owned by ByteDance, a Beijing-based Internet technology company founded in 2012 by Zhang Yiming.
Stable release: 15.5.0 / 31 March 2020
Developed by: ByteDance
Initial release date: September 2016
Operating system: iOS, Android
Size: 308.3 MB (iOS); 55.21 MB (Android)
Available in: 40 languages.
