TikTok access is blocked, but this is how people are still using the app

The Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) has once again restricted Tiktok access, a popular video-sharing website, for failing to remove “inappropriate content.”

“In accordance with relevant sections of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016, the PTA has restricted access to [the] TikTok app and website in the country,” the body stated in a statement.

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has issued a clarification on a comment made by its counsel that has been making the rounds in the media. During the hearing on the TikTok ban in Islamabad High Judge (IHC) on August 23, the court asked PTA’s lawyer if TikTok was open or closed in the country.

The statement issued by the PTA stated, “The TikTok app has been restricted nationwide, although a tiny proportion of users may still be able to access it through technological means.”

To this, the counsel said that over 90% of individuals in the country can unrestrict Tiktok access through proxy.

The authorities clarified Former Senator Mian Muhammad Ateeq Shaikh’s statements on the PTA’s role in the TIkTok ban.

According to the authorities, such are “blatant statements that are entirely baseless.” It is confirmed that PTA is carrying out its duties and obligations in line with the law.”

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Last month, the app stated that over six million videos had been deleted from TikTok in Pakistan in three months.

In October 2020, the Chinese-owned app was banned for the first time in Pakistan. The decision was made in response to concerns about obscene and immoral content, according to the PTA. It was lifted 10 days later when the firm informed the telecom regulator that accounts “promoting vulgarity” would be blocked.

In March of this year, the Peshawar High Court similarly ordered a ban on the video-sharing program, which was eventually removed in April.