TikTok may have narrowly avoided being banned in the US for the time being, but it couldn't escape the iron judgment of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority. This morning, the PTA issued an announcement that after multiple warnings to the viral video app, it is banning the service until better moderation practices against immoral and indecent content are enacted.

The press release, published on the PTA's official Twitter account, states that TikTok has received a large number of complaints against it, which object to the amounts of "immoral/indecent content" on the platform.

The PTA apparently issued a warning to TikTok over these concerns previously. Now the group has said that TikTok parent company ByteDance had "considerable time to respond and comply" with demands to enforce more effective means of proactive moderation to combat unlawful content. It's always a little iffy when a government body starts deciding on what's moral and what isn't, but I've got to admit that some TikToks are probably better left unseen. (Except for this one, which everyone should enjoy.)

The country temporarily banned PUBG earlier this year, but later backtracked. For what it's worth, the PTA statement says that it's still open to working with TikTok, and will review its decision to ban the app if better moderation mechanisms are put in place. It's unclear exactly how or when the ban will take effect, but Pakistani users should definitely make sure to stay away from TikTok's APK Mirror listing. 😉

Source: @PTAofficialpk