Pakistan: TikTok, claiming the app did not remove “immoral” and “indecent” content. The ban comes just over a month after the regulator, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, banned dating apps, including Tinder and Grindr, for an equivalent reason.
TikTok had been installed 43 million times in Pakistan, consistent with the analytics firm Sensor Tower. The firm estimates TikTok has been installed 2.2 billion times total across Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store.
The ban comes just a couple of months after TikTok was removed in India over concerns round the app’s Chinese ownership. The us remains moving to ban TikTok over those self same concerns. The ban itself is currently on hold thanks to a writ , but other restrictions are set to travel into place in mid-November.
TikTok has remained a cultural phenomenon whilst it comes under immense pressure from regulators across the world . But the continued bans — particularly, the pending ban within the US — pose real threats to the app’s growth, as they might indefinitely stop new installs in major markets just like the US and India.
Regulators in Pakistan said they gave TikTok “considerable time” to reply to their concerns, but the corporate “failed to completely comply.” A recent transparency report shows that government authorities in Pakistan asked TikTok to limit 40 accounts during the primary half 2020, but the corporate only restricted two of them.
“TikTok is an inclusive platform built upon the inspiration of creative expression, and that we are hopeful to succeed in a conclusion that helps us serve the country’s vibrant and artistic online community,” a TikTok spokesperson said during a statement sent to The Verge.