PTA blocks TikTok for the fourth time in Pakistan
Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has blocked the video-sharing application TikTok for the fourth time in Pakistan.
In a statement shared on Wednesday, the regulatory authority said that In the light of relevant provisions of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016, PTA has blocked access to TikTok App and website in the country.
The action has been taken due to the continuous presence of inappropriate content on the platform and its failure to take such content down, the statement added.
Timeline of TikTok blockage in Pakistan
TikTok was first time blocked temporarily on 9 October 2020. The ban was lifted after 10 days after TikTok’s management assured the Pakistani government they would block all accounts “repeatedly involved in spreading obscenity and immorality.”
On the direction of the Peshawar High Court, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority blocked TikTok, China’s video-sharing app, for the second time on 11 March 2021. But was lifted shortly afterward.
The Pakistani media regulator undertook the move on Thursday after a court order citing “unethical and immoral content” on the platform.
Tiktok was banned for the third time on 28 Jun 2021 on the orders of the Sindh High Court. The ban had been imposed on the app over “objectionable content”. It was lifted within few days after
