PTA Must Clarify Ban on TikTok or Else it Would be Suspended, IHC
Applicants say it is a source of livelihoods for many besides a platform to demonstrate creativity
ISLAMABAD: The ban on video-sharing application TikTok by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has sparked off outrage among the youth who rely on income generated from it for livelihood.
The mobile application has around 20 million registered users in Pakistan and a few among them have moved to the high-courts seeking ban removal. The Islamabad High Court on Saturday sought clarification from the telecommunication watchdog over the ban on the video-sharing app.
The petitioner against the ban was filed by an athlete who believes that the mobile app was a platform for talented Pakistanis to demonstrate their creativity.
IHC Chief Justice directed the PTA to send a senior official in the next hearing having all relevant information on why TikTok was banned and why PTA’s orders should not be suspended.
The court stated that the concerns raised by the petitioner required consideration as the videos-sharing app was a source of earning for many people let alone a platform to demonstrate creativity.
President Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (FUJ) Mazhar Abbas, Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) Vice Chairman, and Ex-Information Minister Javed Jabbar have been summoned in the next proceeding to assist the bench over alleged misuse of powers by PTA that infringe fundamental rights.
The ban on the video-sharing app TikTok by the PTA has been challenged in the Sindh High Court (SHC) as well on Saturday.
PTA had banned the application across the country as it held it responsible for promoting vulgarity through inappropriate and indecent content.
The authority conditioned the lifting of the ban on the application if the developer company formulates a proactive mechanism for the detection of obscene and inappropriate content and its removal.
The petitioner in the SHC’s petition maintained that only users misusing the application should be penalized or blocked instead of an indiscriminate ban on the application.
Pakistan’s TikTok ban is part of a recent drill against platform bans believed to be maligning social values. Other similar applications including Bigo as well as dating apps like Tinder and Grindr have been banned by PTA until now.
