Pakistan to unblock social media app TikTok after it vows to moderate content

Wednesday, 21 October 2020 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

ISLAMABAD (Reuters): Pakistan has decided to lift a ban on popular social media app TikTok, after the company vowed to block all accounts involved in spreading “obscenity and immorality”, the country’s telecom authority said on Monday.

The move comes 10 days after Pakistan blocked TikTok for failing to block “immoral and indecent” content.

“TikTok has agreed to moderate accounts in accordance with local laws,” said a spokesman for the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), adding that the app had some 20 million monthly active users in the country.

TikTok was the third most-downloaded app in Pakistan over the past 12 months, behind WhatsApp and Facebook, according to analytics firm SensorTower. PTA had said it was open to discussions with TikTok, if the company was willing to moderate unlawful content.