PESHAWAR: A petition has been filed in the Peshawar High Court (PHC) seeking a ban on social media platform TikTok, citing concerns that its content is contributing to “social disorder” in society.
The petition was heard by a bench comprising Justice Ijaz Anwar and Justice Farah Jamshed. During proceedings, the petitioner’s counsel, Barrister Babar Shahzad Imran, argued that objectionable videos uploaded on TikTok were negatively impacting social values and contributing to moral decline.
The lawyer informed the court that the matter of firewall implementation had previously been raised and that the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) had been directed to submit a report in this regard.
In his statement, the lawyer for PTA, Jahanzeb Masood stated that the required report had been submitted by his side. According to him, although efforts were being made to manage online content, a complete prohibition against certain kinds of online content was difficult because of the algorithms used by the social media platforms.
He explained how platforms like TikTok followed recommendation algorithms where similar content was suggested by the system according to user engagement.
The PTA counsel further stated that the authority has already taken action against multiple accounts on the basis of complaints and continues to monitor objectionable content. He added that accounts flagged through complaints are routinely removed or restricted in accordance with applicable regulations.
The court adjourned the hearing after initial arguments, while further proceedings are expected to continue on the regulatory scope and technical feasibility of content restriction measures.
