TikTok Ban Lifted by Pakistan, Fourth Time in Past 15 Months

Pakistan first blocked TikTok in October 2020 over what it described as widespread complaints about allegedly “immoral, obscene and vulgar” content.

By Associated Press | Updated: 22 November 2021 14:01 IST

TikTok Ban Lifted by Pakistan, Fourth Time in Past 15 Months

Pakistan has been urging TikTok to develop an effective mechanism to control unlawful content

Highlights

TikTok assured Pakistan it would block users who upload unlawful content
Pakistan has also forwarded hundreds of complaints to Facebook, Twitter
In 2008, Pakistan banned YouTube over videos depicting Prophet Muhammad

Pakistan's media regulating authority on Friday again lifted a ban on TikTok, this time after four months, following assurances from the popular Chinese video-sharing service that it would control the spread of indecent content.

It was the fourth time in the past 15 months that Pakistan Telecommunication Authority imposed and lifted such a ban.

Pakistan first blocked TikTok, which is very popular among Pakistani teens and young adults, in October 2020 over what it described as widespread complaints about allegedly “immoral, obscene and vulgar” content on the app.

TikTok Pakistan Ban Lifted After Company Vows to Moderate Content

The regulatory agency said in a statement on Twitter that TikTok had assured Pakistan it would also block users who upload “unlawful content.” The app, owned by China's ByteDance, has been downloaded almost 39 million times in Pakistan.

Pakistan, which has close relations with China, has been urging TikTok to develop an effective mechanism to control unlawful content.

Over the years, Pakistan has also forwarded hundreds of complaints to Facebook and Twitter about content, alleging it is offensive and potentially insulting to Islam, which goes against Pakistani law.

Tech Giants Threaten to Leave Pakistan Over Censorship Rules

In 2008, Pakistan banned YouTube over videos depicting the Prophet Muhammad. Muslims generally believe any physical depiction of Islam's prophet is blasphemous.

Can PUBG: New State rival BGMI and PUBG Mobile in the battle royale space? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.