KARACHI: After being repeatedly banned in Pakistan over content that local authorities say is “immoral,” Chinese video-sharing platform TikTok had increased the number of Pakistani content moderators by over 300 percent and tripled its investment in the South Asian country, a senior official said this week.
TikTok has been banned four times in Pakistan. The most recent ban by the country’s telecom regulator, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), was imposed in July 2021, and lifted in November 2021 “after assurances by the platform to control ‘immoral and unlawful’ content.”
In October, TikTok said it had removed over 9.85 million posts generated by Pakistani users between April and June for violating community guidelines, adding that the country ranked second in terms of the volume of removed content in the world.
“Understanding the gravity of the local laws, ethics and values, TikTok has invested heavily in its team of local-language content moderators, leading to a 300 percent-plus growth in local-language moderation headcount,” Jiagen Eep, Trust and Safety, Singapore Hub Lead for TikTok, told Arab News via email.
“This large content moderation team works round the clock, monitoring content posted by our users in Pakistan,” he said. “Of course, our moderators work within the purview of prevailing labor laws and additional offline time is provided for wellbeing and training.”
The official said keeping in mind the social, religious and cultural context of Pakistan, TikTok had “more than tripled our investment in the last twelve months in our dedicated local-language moderation team for Pakistan” that ensured that content on the platform was in line with community guidelines and prompt action was taken in case of violations.
“The content moderation process has been made even more efficient with the hiring of local-language moderators who understand multiple Pakistani languages, culture and social norms and are able to make quick assessments in light of our community guidelines,” he said.
Jiagen said 16,347,396 videos were removed between January and June 2021 for violating Pakistani community guidelines. This was only 1.5 percent of the total videos uploaded during that period, he said.
“Our efforts on content moderation in Pakistan have been acknowledged and commended both by the PTA and the Prime Minister’s Committee for Social Media Rules,” he said.
The platform, Jiagen said, took action over adult nudity and sexual activities, harassment and bullying, hateful behavior, illegal activities, integrity and authenticity, minor safety, suicide, self-harm and dangerous acts, violent extremism, and violent and graphic content.
To improve content creation in Pakistan, TikTok had also launched a digital literacy initiative and was planning a creators’ academy, Jiagen said.
“We are partnering with local NGOs to drive digital literacy initiatives in Pakistan, including introducing guides in local languages for parents and teachers along with awareness sessions for safe use of the Internet,” the platform said in response to questions emailed by Arab News.
“In the future, we also plan to launch the TikTok Creators Academy in Pakistan which is a program that offers a series of workshops to empower creators to develop and create compelling content and stories across multiple content categories on TikTok,” the statement said. “We are also working on some major projects that we hope to announce soon.”
Jiagen’s comments come just weeks after the Pakistani government approved new social media rules to regulate its cyberspace, including imposing a penalty of up to Rs500 million, or roughly $3 million, on service providers and social media companies in cases of statutory violations.
The rules, which have been under discussion since November last year, have invited fierce criticism from rights groups who fear they may be used to stifle dissent and free speech.
Bitten by bans, TikTok hires Pakistani content moderators, triples investment
https://arab.news/87dw6
Bitten by bans, TikTok hires Pakistani content moderators, triples investment
- Top official at app says TikTok had invested in 300 percent-plus growth in local-language moderators
- TikTok says has launched digital literacy initiative in Pakistan, planning TikTok Creators Academy
Pakistan says responding to Afghan ‘offensive operations’ after border fire as tensions escalate
- Afghan Taliban spokesperson says “large-scale offensive operations” launched against Pakistani military bases
- Pakistan says Afghan forces opened “unprovoked” fire across multiple sectors along shared border
ISLAMABAD: Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities said on Thursday they had launched “large-scale offensive operations” against Pakistani military bases and installations, prompting Pakistan to say its forces were responding to what it described as unprovoked fire along the shared border.
The escalation follows Islamabad’s weekend airstrikes targeting what it said were Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Daesh militant camps inside Afghanistan in response to a wave of recent bombings and attacks in Pakistan. Islamabad said the strikes killed over 100 militants, while Kabul said dozens of civilians were killed and condemned the attacks as a violation of its sovereignty.
In a post on social media platform X, Afghan government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said Afghanistan had launched “large-scale offensive operations” in response to repeated violations by the Pakistani military.
Pakistan’s Ministry of Information said Afghan forces had initiated hostilities along multiple points of the frontier.
“Afghan Taliban regime unprovoked action along the Pakistan–Afghanistan border given an immediate, and effective response,” the ministry said in a statement.
The statement said Pakistani forces were targeting Taliban positions in the Chitral, Khyber, Mohmand, Kurram and Bajaur sectors, claiming heavy Afghan casualties and the destruction of multiple posts and equipment. It added that Pakistan would take all necessary measures to safeguard its territorial integrity and the security of its citizens.
Separately, security officials said Pakistani forces had carried out counterattacks in several border sectors.
“Pakistan’s security forces are giving a befitting reply to the unprovoked Afghan aggression with full force,” a security official said, declining to be named.
“The Pakistani security forces’ counter-attack destroyed Taliban’s hideouts and the Khawarij fled,” they added, referring to TTP militants.
The claims from both sides could not be independently verified.
Cross-border violence has intensified in recent weeks, with Pakistan blaming a surge in suicide bombings and militant attacks on militants it says are based in Afghanistan. Kabul denies providing safe havens to anti-Pakistan militant groups.
The clashes mark the third major escalation between the neighbors in less than a year. Similar Pakistani strikes last year triggered weeklong clashes before Qatar, Türkiye and other regional actors mediated a ceasefire in October.
The 2,600-kilometer (1,600-mile) frontier, a key trade and transit corridor linking Pakistan to landlocked Afghanistan and onward to Central Asia, has faced repeated closures amid tensions, disrupting commerce and humanitarian movement. Trade between the two nations has remained closed since October 2025.
