KARACHI – The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Friday lifted the ban on TikTok after the telecom regulator assured the court of issuing a ruling on the petitioner’s request by Monday.
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) told the court that access to the application was blocked by it on June 30. It had requested the court to review its decision and allow it to restore the services.
The PTA counsel assured the court that it would expedite the process on the petitioner’s request and issue a ruling on it by July 5.
After hearing the arguments, the SHC withdrew the suspension order and directed the PTA to make a decision on the matter till then. The hearing was adjourned until next Monday.
Last month, the SHC imposed a ban on the widely popular social media app, TikTok. The high court issued the verdict while hearing a petition seeking a ban the app over objectionable content.
The petitioner said that a complaint was also lodged with the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) but it took no action.
The SHC issued notice to the Attorney General of Pakistan and sought a reply from the parties by July 8.
TikTok, a widely popular video-sharing app, responded to the Sindh High Court’s (SHC) ruling to suspend its services across Pakistan, saying that it is working with regulators to check violation of community guidelines.
“The creativity and passion of our community has brought joy to households across Pakistan and provided a home for incredibly talented creators,” said TikTok in a statement.
“We have grown our local-language moderation capacity for Pakistan, and work diligently to review and take action on content in violation of our Community Guidelines,” it added.
In the Muslim nation, posting videos in Western clothes that reveal too much skin is taboo, and is often met with abuse.
