Peshawar High Court orders immediate ban on TikTok

The Peshawar High Court (PHC) has banned TikTok, a popular social media application commonly used by teenagers and influencers for video sharing, over immoral content.

Peshawar High Court orders to Shut Down Tik Tok immediately

— Mansoor Ali Khan (@_Mansoor_Ali) March 11, 2021

PHC Chief Justice (CJ) Qasier Rashid Khan said that the ban will not be lifted till the immoral content is removed.

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Director General (DG) told the court he contacted TikTok management to remove the objectionable content but didn’t receive any response. Justice Khan remarked that the app should remain blocked till authorities respond.

Last year in September, a man approached Peshawar High court after the PTA and other institutions failed to take notice of the “Immoral and objectionable” content on the app.

He said that “such activities are leading the country’s youth astray, adding that suicide cases are on the rise too.”

Last year, Pakistan also blocked the app on October 9, 2020, when PTA issued final notice to the TikTok management.

They were given considerable time to respond and develop an effective mechanism for proactive moderation of unlawful online content. TikTok has failed to fully comply with PTA’s instructions.

Later on, the ban was lifted when the TikTok management had told the authority that it will block all accounts repeatedly involved in spreading obscenity and immorality.

In respectful compliance to the orders of the Peshawar High Court, PTA has issued directions to the service providers to immediately block access to the TikTok App. During the hearing of a case today, the PHC has ordered for the blocking of App.

— PTA (@PTAofficialpk) March 11, 2021

As per the orders of PHC, PTA has directed the service providers to immediately block access to TikTok.