Islamabad: Pakistan's communications regulator has lifted a fourth ban on TikTok following a confirmation by a popular Chinese video sharing site that it would control "bad and dirty content". The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) had banned it in July after allegations that it was uploading and distributing pornographic content. The PTA has reinstated TikTok resources for verification of the content control / malicious content, the regulator said Friday.
According to a PTA statement, the official had last blocked the application on July 20 and has since been in contact with TikTok management on the matter. "As a result of ongoing communication, senior field management has reaffirmed (PTA) its commitment to take the necessary steps to regulate illegal content in accordance with local laws and community norms," the statement said.
It also said the social media company also provided a guarantee to block users from their ongoing involvement in uploading "illegal content" to TikTok.
"In view of these guarantees, the authority has decided to immediately remove the TikTok ban," the statement said, adding that the PTA would continue to monitor video sharing to ensure that "illegal content, contrary to Pakistan. Law and public standards, is not distributed".
This is the fourth time that the PTA has removed the ban from the platform after blocking it for various reasons. Tik Tok was banned in Pakistan for the first time in October 2020, but was removed 10 days later following a company guarantee to ban "pornographic" accounts.
The Peshawar High Court in March ruled a ban on a video-sharing application that was later dropped in April.
In June, the Sindh High Court ordered the PTA to suspend TikTok for spreading immorality and obscenity. The court overturned his suspension three days later and issued an order. The app said it had removed more than six million videos from Pakistan from January to March, making the country the second market to receive the most videos removed after the US.
The app, hosted by China's ByteDance, has been downloaded more than 39 million times in Pakistan. It is popular in Pakistan but dozens of young people have died recording various dangerous videos.