MILLIONS of TikTok users in Pakistan are overwhelmed with joy after the authorities announced to lift ban on the video sharing App. This came as the Chinese-owned platform, which is widely popular amongst the country’s youth, gave the assurances that it will block all accounts repeatedly involved in spreading obscenity and immorality. Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) in a statement said as a result of continuous engagement with the platform’s senior management, TikTok has assured moderating content in accordance with societal norms and laws of the country.
One should really commend the efforts put in by the management of TikTok for coming forward and addressing the concerns of Pakistani authorities on the matter of content. TikTok, which is owned by ByteDance Company, has around 20 million active users per month, making it the third most popular social media App in the country after Facebook and WhatsApp. In our view, there is no use whatsoever of banning altogether an Application but there should be certain checks and balances, banning only those users which are involved in uploading controversial material. Whilst many users are doing a wonderful job on these social media platforms, there are many others who are abusing them and using them for promoting vulgarity and obscenity which indeed could not be allowed in our country. This is the reason that the PTA had to act against the TikTok and we are confident that the understanding now reached between the two sides will be fully adhered to avoid such a situation again. It is also a matter of satisfaction that the company has expressed its readiness to invest further in Pakistan and our authorities should stay actively engaged with its management to materialize it for the benefit of our youth. At the same time it is important that a policy is framed to regulate the social media but this will only be effective if the technical capabilities of the PTA are also enhanced to block such a content which is contrary to our socio-religious values.
