Popular social media app TikTok on Monday communicated to the Peshawar High Court (PHC) that it defers to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) for the initiation of removing any allegedly blasphemous content hosted on its platform.
The statement was made in response to a court petition aiming to permanently ban TikTok in Pakistan over concerns related to blasphemous and immoral content.
The case, presided over by Justice SM Atiq Shah and Justice Shakeel Ahmed, involves a petition brought forth by Advocate Imran Khan. The advocate has urged the court to mandate a ban on TikTok, arguing that the app consistently fails to adhere to local content guidelines and violates constitutional norms.
In the letter to the court, TikTok outlined its procedure for content moderation, emphasizing that it only takes down videos flagged by the PTA through a specially designated portal. TikTok stressed its strict adherence to policies regarding blasphemous content in Pakistan, noting the provision of special access for the PTA to this portal for swift content review and removal.
The company affirmed that while it actively blocks content violating Pakistan’s blasphemy laws once reported through the portal, there have been no recent escalations or reports from the PTA. TikTok has proactively reached out to the PTA to encourage reporting any concerning content.
TikTok, a global video-sharing service, first faced a ban in Pakistan in October 2020 and has since experienced several suspensions, primarily due to allegations of promoting content deemed immoral by local standards.