MOSCOW, March 12 — A judge in Pakistan on Thursday ordered the country’s telecom regulator to ban TikTok for “spreading obscenity in society,” Sputnik quoted a media report.
According to Pakistani newspaper Dawn, Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Qaiser Rashid Khan gave the order after finding that the content shared on the video-sharing platform was “unacceptable for Pakistani society.”
“TikTok should be closed down unless their officials comply with your request and cooperate with you to prevent immoral content,” Justice Khan was quoted as saying.
Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Kamran Gandapur, who was ordered to enforce the ban, told the judge that a request was sent to TikTok officials but no response has yet been received.
Khan ordered the platform banned until the request was processed. The judge was then informed that TikTok has no offices in Pakistan, with its head office in Singapore and a regional directorate in Dubai, it was reported.
“TikTok is affecting most of the youth. Reports being received about the platform in Peshawar are sad,” Khan was quoted as saying, accusing it of “spreading obscenity in society.”
The Chinese social media app has come under increasing pressure the world over but continues to be increasingly popular among youths. A short-form video sharing platform, TikTok has begun gaining legitimacy with a growing number of celebrities, public figures and media outlets registering official accounts.
