Fri 09 October 2020:
Pakistan’s telecom regulator blocked TikTok on Friday for failing to filter out “immoral and indecent” content, another blow to the social media app that has come under increasing scrutiny as its popularity has surged across the globe.
The ban comes in view of “complaints from different segments of the society against immoral and indecent content on the video sharing application,” said the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA).
In July, Pakistan’s telecommunications regulator issued a “final warning” to the short-form video app over explicit content posted on the platform.
TikTok, owned by China-based ByteDance, has become hugely popular in a short period of time by encouraging young users to post brief videos. But a number of countries have raised security and privacy concerns over its links to China.
In June, it was blocked in India – then its largest market by users – which cited national security concerns at a time of a border dispute with China. Separately, it faces the threat of being barred in the United States, and scrutiny in other countries including Australia.
TikTok has long denied that its links to China pose a security concern.
TikTok reported 20 million monthly active users in Pakistan, while it was the third most downloaded app after WhatsApp and Facebook over the last 12 months, according to analytics firm Sensor Tower.
The decision was taken after Prime Minister Imran Khan took a keen interest in the issue, said a second official in Pakistan, adding that Khan has directed the telecom authorities to make all efforts to block vulgar content in the conservative Islamic republic.
Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!
