PESHAWAR – A petition has been filed in court over concerns that TikTok is contributing to social disorder.
The hearing of the petition regarding a ban on TikTok was conducted in the Peshawar High Court by a bench comprising Justice Ijaz Anwar and Justice Farah Jamshed. During the hearing, the petitioner’s lawyer, Barrister Babar Shehzad Imran, argued that objectionable videos are uploaded on TikTok, which are causing moral and social deterioration in society.
He further informed the court that it had previously sought a report from the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) regarding the firewall. PTA’s lawyer, Jahanzeb Mehsud, submitted that the required report had already been filed.
The PTA lawyer stated that TikTok and other social media platforms use algorithms in such a way that if a user watches a certain type of content, similar content continues to appear. He added that while the petitioner seeks control over specific content, blocking only selected material is very difficult.
He further informed the court that the authority is working on the issue and several accounts have already been blocked based on complaints received.
Justice Ijaz Anwar remarked that political posts are blocked immediately if the government wants them taken down, questioning why similar content cannot be controlled in the same way.
In response, the lawyer said that a separate body has now been established to regulate social media.
He added that the Social Media Protection and Regulatory Authority has been formed to handle such matters. The petitioner’s counsel argued that if the government does not regulate TikTok, people may come out in protest, and therefore the new authority should also be asked to respond.
The court accepted the request and sought a report from the Social Media Protection and Regulatory Authority, while adjourning further hearing of the case.
