On Friday, The Islamabad High court (IHC) while hearing the citizen’s petition questioned PTA’s authority to ban Tiktok a popular video-sharing website.
Justice Athar Minallah commented that it was a slippery slope and that other social websites like google and YouTube should also be banned by this logic. He advised PTA to consult the government and make up a proper mechanism to deal with such issues. He commented that the App was a source of livelihood and entertainment for the people and instead of a complete ban the PTA should educate people to abstain from obscene material.
Tiktok has been banned for the fourth time within a year. Initially, PTA received complaints regarding inappropriate material on the application. Every now and then PTA suspends the app, and the debate sparks all over again. Reportedly 6 million videos were taken down from TikTok in the first quarter of 2021 and around 15 per cent were alleged of adult nudity and sexual activities.
As for now, Justice Athar has advised the PTA to spend its efforts on regulating the application rather than imposing a blanket ban.
