TickTock, a Chinese video sharing app, is back in Pakistan. The local time was announced by the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) last Friday. Tick tock started in Pakistan after the Chinese social media giant assured that it would control the spread of immoral and obscene content. News Dawn.
Pakistan had earlier banned ticking in the country for various reasons. This is the fourth time that the country has lifted its ban on ticking.
According to a statement issued by the PTA, they last banned ticks in the country on July 20 this year. Since then, they have been in touch with the management authorities of Tiktak about the matter.
The statement said, “Tiktak has been in constant contact with the higher authorities for a long time. As a result, they have assured us of taking necessary steps to control any illegal content on their platforms in accordance with the existing laws and social norms of Pakistan.
According to the PTA, Tiktak authorities have promised to block the account if any user regularly uploads ‘illegal content’.
After receiving these assurances, the authorities decided to immediately lift the ban on Tiktok, the PTA said in a statement. However, he said that surveillance should be continued to prevent illegal content and any content that is against the laws and social values of Pakistan.
Pakistan banned ticking in the country for the first time in October 2020.
The PTA had said it would ban ticks at the time due to allegations of indecent and immoral content. The ban was lifted 10 days later after TickTock promised to shut down “obscene” accounts.
In March this year, the Peshawar High Court directed the government to stop ticking in Pakistan. The ban was lifted last April. In June, the Sindh High Court ordered a ban on ticking in Pakistan. A few days after the court’s order, the ban was lifted and the tick-tuck was revived in Pakistan. The PTA again banned Tiktak in Pakistan last July for failing to remove “offensive content”. The ban was lifted on Friday.
