The Peshawar High Court (PHC) has directed the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to ensure the removal of any blasphemous and objectionable material from the social media platform TikTok.
A bench comprising Justice SM Atiq Shah and Justice Shakeel Ahmed oversaw the proceedings of a petition requesting a permanent ban on TikTok in Pakistan.
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Filed by Advocate Imran Khan, the petition urged the court to instruct the PTA, Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), and Ministry of Information to ban TikTok due to ongoing breaches of guidelines and constitutional violations.
The court specifically addressed concerns regarding blasphemous and objectionable content circulating on TikTok. Jehanzaib Mehsud, representing the PTA, informed the court, “We have submitted our comments today.” The petitioner’s counsel argued for a ban, stating, “While positive content is appreciated, the platform is also misused to disseminate blasphemous material.”
Justice Ahmed supported the removal of objectionable content, emphasizing, “While positive content should be promoted, there should be zero tolerance for objectionable material.”
During the proceedings, the PTA’s lawyer mentioned that blasphemous posts on TikTok had been swiftly blocked. However, Justice Shah questioned the effectiveness of these measures, asking, “Why is content filtering not as effective in Pakistan as it is in the US and other countries?” The PTA’s lawyer admitted, “We currently lack such a filtering system.”
The court highlighted the national significance of the issue and urged the PTA to take proactive steps. The PTA was instructed to remove all objectionable content from TikTok and submit a comprehensive report within seven days. The next hearing is scheduled for July 24.
