A petition in the Lahore High Court (LHC) has sought an immediate ban on YouTube, Facebook and TikTok.

 

As per the details, a citizen named Aslam, through Advocate Nadeem Sarwar, has filed the petition with the federal government and Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) as respondents.

 

The petitioner claimed that many people in Pakistan used YouTube channels for blackmailing, adding that immoral videos were being uploaded to YouTube and Facebook to gain views and earn money without any license.

 

It was further stated that fake videos were being shared to said platforms besides some content creators showing women from their families in their vlogs, which he believed, was harmful to the social fabric.

 

The citizen requested the court to enforce the Citizen Protection Rules and order the shutdown of all social media platforms.

 

It merits a mention that YouTube was last banned in Pakistan in September 2012. The ban was imposed after the platform failed to remove a blasphemous video that sparked widespread protests by Muslims across the globe.

 

The ban lasted for several years and was lifted in January 2016 after YouTube launched a localised version for Pakistan, allowing the government to request the removal of objectionable content.

 

Apart from this, TikTok has been banned multiple times in the country due to concerns over immoral and indecent content. The platform faced bans in October 2020, March 2021 and July 2021, but these were lifted after TikTok assured stricter content moderation and compliance with local laws.