Pakistan banned Chinese social media app TikTok for circulation of content that it deemed “immoral and indecent,” making it the latest country to restrict the wildly popular video-sharing app, reported Caixin.
The decision followed a number of complaints from different segments of society, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) said Friday in a statement. Pakistan’s ban was particularly bad news for TikTok as the nation has been one of Beijing’s closet allies, said Caixin.
The PTA said it gave TikTok considerable time to revamp its content, but the app failed to fully comply with the authority’s instructions. TikTok was informed that the regulator is open to engagement and will review its decision subject to a satisfactory mechanism by TikTok to moderate unlawful content, the PTA said.
TikTok is the third-most downloaded app on Apple’s App Store in Pakistan and the fifth-most downloaded on Google Play, according to data research firm SensorTower.