Mon 19 October 2020:
The company has assured the authorities that it will take steps to control “indecent and immoral” on the app
Chinese-owned video-sharing app TikTok has been restored in Pakistan after it assured the authorities it would “block all accounts repeatedly involved in spreading obscenity and immorality”.
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) said in a statement on Monday that the app has been unblocked in the country.
It had earlier been banned on October 9 for failing to filter out “immoral and indecent” content.
According to an earlier report, the commitment by the company was made in a meeting with PTA officials, after which the regulator unbanned the application.
The telecom regulator had said that the decision to ban the app was taken after the authority received a number of “complaints from different segments of the society against immoral and indecent content on the video sharing application.”
“TikTok is being unlocked after assurance from management that they will block all accounts repeatedly involved in spreading obscenity and immorality,” read the PTA statement.
“TikTok will moderate the account in accordance with local laws.”
According to sources, the company has assured the authorities that it will take steps to control “indecent and immoral” on the app.
TikTok’s statement
“We’re pleased to see that the TikTok app has been unblocked in Pakistan,” the company’s spokesperson said in a statement circulated on Monday evening.
“We appreciate the PTA’s commitment to ongoing productive dialogue and recognize their care for the digital experience of Pakistani users. At TikTok, we’re committed to enforcing our Community Guidelines and complying with local laws in all markets in which we operate, as these are pillars of our work to promote a safe and positive community online,” it added.
“The creativity and passion of this community has brought joy to households across Pakistan and opened vital economic opportunities to incredibly talented creators, and we’re excited to be able to continue enabling Pakistani voices and creativity as we work to support the success story of Pakistan.”
