Peshawar High Court Issues Notice to PTA Over TikTok Ban Petition

The Peshawar High Court (PHC) has issued a notice to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to respond to a petition calling for a complete ban on the video-sharing app TikTok. The petition, filed by Advocate Imran Khan, seeks a permanent ban on TikTok for hosting content deemed “blasphemous and immoral.”

Background of TikTok Bans in Pakistan

TikTok, a popular social media platform, was first banned in Pakistan in October 2020 and has faced several subsequent bans due to claims that it promotes immoral content. The petition argues that TikTok has repeatedly violated guidelines and the Pakistani Constitution by failing to remove objectionable content.

Court Proceedings

A bench comprising Chief Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim and Justice Sahibzada Asadullah heard the petition on Thursday. The petitioner requested interim relief, seeking the removal of all objectionable material from TikTok until the final decision on the petition is made. He also urged the court to prevent the introduction of future applications that could negatively impact the moral and ethical values of Pakistanis.

Concerns Raised in the Petition

The petition highlights that while social media has its benefits, platforms like TikTok have enabled the spread of content that disregards decency, morality, and Islamic values in Pakistan. It criticizes TikTok for not adequately filtering out criminal, hateful, unethical, and vulgar content, thereby violating its own policies and serving as a platform for such objectionable material.

PHC’s Order

The PHC’s written order emphasized that the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) is not responsible for regulating such cases. Instead, the PTA is the appropriate authority to address these concerns. The court has given the PTA seven days to submit a response and has adjourned the hearing until June 26.

TikTok’s Response and Content Removal

According to TikTok’s latest transparency report, the platform received 303 content removal requests from the Pakistani government in the second half of 2023, leading to the removal of 93.5% of the reported content. In total, TikTok removed 12,392 pieces of content for violating community guidelines and 2,126 pieces for local law violations. Additionally, 270 accounts were removed for community guidelines violations, and 59 accounts for local law violations.

TikTok’s Community Guidelines Enforcement Report for Q4 2023 indicates a 99.5% proactive removal rate of content that violates its guidelines globally. This demonstrates TikTok’s commitment to maintaining a safe and respectful environment on its platform, despite ongoing challenges in specific regions like Pakistan.

The outcome of this petition and the PTA’s response will be closely monitored, as it could have significant implications for the future of digital content regulation in Pakistan.