ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan telecoms regulator said on Monday it was unblocking TikTok after the company that owns the video sharing app assured the government it would block accounts spreading “obscenity and immorality” on the platform.
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) blocked TikTok earlier this month for what it called its failure to filter out “immoral and indecent” content.
“TikTok is being unlocked after assurance from management that they will block all accounts repeatedly involved in spreading obscenity and immorality,” PTA said on Twitter. “TikTok will moderate the account in accordance with local laws.”
In a detailed statement, PTA warned: "The restoration of TikTok services is strictly subject to the condition that the platform will not be used for the spread of vulgarity / indecent content and that the societal values will not be abused. PTA will be constrained to permanently block the application, in case the said condition is not fulfilled."
TikTok responded to the government's decision to unblock the app, saying it appreciated Pakistan's ongoing dialogue with the platform.
"We're committed to enforcing our Community Guidelines and complying with local laws in all markets in which we operate, as these are pillars of our work to promote a safe and positive community online," a spokesman for the app said. "The creativity and passion of this community has brought joy to households across Pakistan and opened vital economic opportunities to incredibly talented creators, and we're excited to be able to continue enabling Pakistani voices and creativity as we work to support the success story of Pakistan."
In a statement last month, PTA had said it was blocking the app in view of complaints "against immoral/indecent content," adding that it had issued a final notice to the app and granted the company “considerable” time to comply with the authority’s instructions to moderate content Pakistan deemed unlawful, which TikTok failed to do.
“The application failed to fully comply with the instructions, therefore, directions were issued for blocking of TikTok application in the country,” PTA said. “TikTok has been informed that the Authority is open for engagement and will review its decision subject to a satisfactory mechanism by TikTok to moderate unlawful content.”
In August, Pakistan blocked five dating apps, namely Tinder, Tagged, Skout, Grinder and SayHi. On July 21, PTA said it had banned the Singaporean live-streaming app Bigo over “immoral, obscene and vulgar content” and issued a last warning to Tiktok for “similar” reasons. Bigo was subsequently unbanned. The hugely popular online game PUBG also remained banned in Pakistan through July.
In September, PTA said it had approached TikTok to immediately block “objectionable content” available on its platform in Pakistan and prevent the use of its platform “for disseminating illegal content.”
In August, the PTA chairman attended an online meeting with senior management of TikTok and shared “growing concerns” in Pakistan over content available on the platform.
In its latest transparency report, TikTok has said Pakistan was one of five markets in the world with the largest volume of videos removed due to breach of community guidelines and terms of service.
“In the recent release of its Transparency Report, TikTok shared the global volume of videos removed for violating its Community Guidelines or Terms of Service, which showed that Pakistan is one of the five markets with the largest volume of removed videos,” the app had said in a statement. “This demonstrates TikTok’s commitment to remove any potentially harmful or inappropriate content reported in Pakistan.”