Pak court orders suspension of TikTok for spreading ‘immorality, obscenity’

Islamabad [Pakistan], June 29 (ANI): A Pakistani court on Monday once again ordered the suspension of Chinese video-sharing application TikTok, nearly three months after the ban was lifted from the popular app.

The order was issued following a plea by an aggrieved citizen who accused the platform of spreading “immorality and obscenity” through its content on the mobile app, Dawn newspaper reported.

On Monday, the Sindh High Court ordered the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to suspend access to TikTok in the country until the next hearing of the case, which is scheduled for July 8.

The court order said that the Chinese app had not abided by “the constant undertakings and assurances” given by it before various courts.

It also said that the platform failed to respect the law and basic injunctions of Islam as well as the culture of Pakistan and “recently started a social media campaign whereby they are celebrating ‘LGBT Pride Month'”.

In March, the Peshawar High Court had ordered PTA to ban TikTok for “spreading obscenity in society”. This order was given after hearing a petition against the social media platform.

Previously, TikTok was banned in October last year for a few days in Pakistan for ‘unethical content’.

However, the PTA later restored TikTok with conditions and warnings that it adhere to the laws of the country, the platform should not be used for spreading vulgarity/indecent content, and values of society should also not be abused. (ANI)