After five long months, Pakistan finally has un-banned the popular Chinese video-sharing platform TikTok. Five months ago the Pakistani government had banned TikTok from Pakistan due to the “immoral/indecent content” being displayed on the platform. However, if this was a big enough reason to ban such a popular platform is up to debate.
Concerning the ban lift, this is what The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) had to say:
“After the imposition of ban on TikTok on 20 July 2021, PTA remained in communications with the TikTok management. As a result of continuous engagement, senior management of the platform assured PTA of its commitment to take necessary measures to control unlawful content following local laws and societal norms,”
“PTA will continue to monitor the platform in order to ensure that unlawful content contrary to Pakistan’s law and societal values is not disseminated”
Press Release: PTA has restored the services of TikTok on assurances of the Platform to control immoral / indecent content.
— PTA (@PTAofficialpk) November 19, 2021
To avoid being banned by the Pakistani government again TikTok assured that the users who are continuously involved in uploading unlawful content will be blocked from using the platform.
The ban and un-ban of TikTok have become a huge debate recently. Mostly it is the older generation that advocates for its removal and the younger generation fights for its preservation. The older generation and celebrities like Shahid Afridi were very vocal that Tik Tok should be removed from Pakistan forever. As of now, Pakistan along with China and India has the most TikTok users in the world.