Chinese App, TikTok, Now Banned in Pakistan

After a series of similar steps taken by the various other countries against China, now Pakistan has blocked the Chinese social media App, TikTok, on October 9, 2020. In a statement released by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), it has been said that the department took the step after receiving complaints against ‘Immoral and Indecent’ content on the video-sharing platform.

The authorities have also said that the App Company completely failed to comply with the instructions to develop an effective mechanism to control unlawful content. The PTA said that keeping in view the complaints and nature of the content being consistently posted on TikTok, the company was issued a final notice and given considerable time to respond and comply with instructions and guidelines. “But TikTok ‘failed to fully comply with PTA’s instructions. However, the authorities concerned decided to ban it in Pakistan. Shortly, after the ban, the app began to show a blank interface with no text or images loading”, the PTA statement reads. Pakistan has close relations with China. The telecommunication authority kept the door open for a return of TikTok, saying “it is open for engagement” and would review its decision if TikTok develops a mechanism to moderate the content.

It has been a target of several complaints and court petitions calling for its ban in Pakistan. The PTA had in July this year said it had issued a ‘final warning’ to TikTok to remove “obscene and immoral content”. The video-sharing app, which is owned by China’s ByteDance, is the third-most downloaded app over the past year after WhatsApp and Facebook and has been downloaded almost 39 million times in Pakistan. The App was earlier banned by India and the United States for violating guidelines.