High Court Rules On Petition Demanding TikTok Ban, December 5, 2023

The Peshawar High Court (PHC) dismissed a petition to ban TikTok, a Chinese video-sharing app, on Tuesday.

A two-member court comprised of Chief Justice Qaiser Rashid Khan and Justice Mohammad Ibrahim Khan heard the appeal, which sought to prevent the posting of illicit content that violated the Islamic code of life. A group of 40 Peshawar residents filed it.

Sara Ali Khan and Nazish Muzaffar represented the petitioners, while senior lawyer Jehanzeb Mehsud represented the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA).

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During the hearing, the PTA counsel informed the PHC that TikTok had been hacked and that the accounts responsible for uploading such videos had been blocked.

The PTA noted that it communicated with the company on a regular basis and that it had created a method for temporarily suspending and then permanently blocking accounts that posted immoral content on TikTok.

While the court ordered the PTA to continue its efforts, it also observed that the video-sharing app wasn’t the only source of obscenity, as some politicians had used derogatory language on social media.

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Because some political leaders have used disrespectful language in their speeches, the court stated that the government should pay attention to this issue as well.

The bench issued a brief order dismissing the petition, noting that it had accomplished its goal.

In March of last year, a judge declared TikTok service illegal in the country, limiting people’s access to the video-sharing app. The prohibition was lifted on April 1, 2021, after the court ordered the PTA to verify that no immoral or filthy information was submitted.