Taliban Bans Chinese Apps TikTok & PUBG Over Promotion of ‘Immoral’ Content

Following in India and Pakistan’s footsteps, Afghanistan has become the third Asian country to ban the Chinese mobile applications. The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, a term used by the Taliban* to refer to its government, has vowed to restrict all apps promoting “immoral content.”

The Afghan government is set to block access to TikTok in the next 30 days, while the famous gaming app PUBG will be banned in the next 90 days, local media report citing the Afghan Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technology .

The decision was reportedly made after the country's security agency and Sharia law enforcement administration found the content posted on these apps to be “immoral.”

On April 21, the Afghan cabinet directed the Telecom and IT Ministry to take appropriate steps to block access to PUBG games and TikTok.

“The Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technology is obliged to block the PUBG game and an application called TikTok, which causes the young generation to go astray, and in the same way, from the broadcasts of those channels that have content and programs publish immorality, even if it is possible to prevent it,” an IEA spokesperson had said after the cabinet decision in April.

Earlier, the IEA had blocked the access of more than 23 million websites for displaying what it considers immoral content over the year since the US-led NATO forces pulled out from the war-torn nation.

*under UN sanctions over terrorist activities