Pakistan to Ban TikTok for Not Filtering 'Immoral' Content, Sources Say

The telecommunications regulatory body of Pakistan issued a notice back in July, stating it was a "final warning" to the Bytedance-owned app, urging TikTok to "put in place a comprehensive mechanism to control obscenity, vulgarity, and immorality through its social media application".

Pakistan plans to block TikTok, because the media platform failed to abide by requests from the authorities, according to sources.

"We have been asking them repeatedly to put in place an effective mechanism for blocking immoral and indecent content", a top official directly involved in the decision told Reuters. "The platform, however, hasn't been able to fully satisfy Pakistani authorities. The decision has been taken to block TikTok for accessing in Pakistan".

The TikTok logo is pictured outside the company's U.S. head office in Culver City, California, U.S., Sept. 15, 2020.

© REUTERS / MIKE BLAKE

Islamabad previously said that the app has an obligation "to moderate the socialisation and content within legal and moral limits" as per existing Pakistani laws.

Earlier this year, the Pakistani government also banned several platforms and games, including online multiplayer video game, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), claiming it was addictive and dangerous for the mental health of young people.