Pakistan bans TikTok over failure to filter out ‘immoral and indecent’ content

Name: Pakistan bans TikTok over ‘immoral and indecent’ videos
Uploaded: 2020-10-09T14:42:41.000Z
Duration: 1 min 41 s
Description: Pakistan bans TikTok over ‘immoral and indecent’ videos

The country’s telecommunication authority said it would review its ban, subject to a satisfactory mechanism by TikTok to moderate unlawful content

The ByteDance-owned app’s quick rise has caught it in a firestorm, with a number of countries raising security concerns over its links to China

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Pakistan said it would review its ban, subject to a satisfactory mechanism by TikTok to moderate unlawful content. Photo: Getty Images

Reuters

Published: 10:42pm, 9 Oct 2020Updated: 2:54pm, 15 Oct 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).

The PTA said it would review its ban, subject to a satisfactory mechanism by TikTok to moderate unlawful content.

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Pakistan bans TikTok over ‘immoral and indecent’ videos

TikTok said it was “committed to following the law in markets where the app is offered”.

“We have been in regular communication with the PTA and continue to work with them. We are hopeful to reach a conclusion that helps us continue to serve the country’s vibrant and creative online community,” it said.

TikTok, owned by China-based ByteDance, has become hugely popular in a short period of time, by encouraging young users to post brief videos. Its quick rise has caught it in a firestorm, with a number of countries raising 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.