ISLAMABAD (Web Desk) – The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) on Thursday rejected claims that TikTok has been banned in the country, calling them "false and misleading" and saying it has issued no such notification.
In a post on X, the regulator said a fabricated notification about an alleged ban was being shared on social media. "PTA clarifies that no such notification has been issued, and the circulating information is false and misleading," it stated.
The authority urged the public to avoid sharing or trusting unverified information, and to get authentic updates only from PTA's official website and verified social media accounts.
TikTok has faced several bans in Pakistan over complaints of indecent and immoral content. The first came in October 2020 but was lifted ten days later, after the company promised the regulator it would block accounts "spreading obscenity."
In March 2021, the Peshawar High Court imposed another ban, which was lifted in April. That June, the Sindh High Court ordered the PTA to suspend access to the app for "spreading immorality and obscenity," though the suspension was withdrawn three days later.
The PTA blocked the platform again in July 2021, citing its failure to remove "inappropriate content." The following month, the Islamabad High Court questioned the regulator's authority to impose a blanket ban, noting that by the same reasoning, platforms like Google and YouTube would also have to be blocked. It directed the PTA to consult the government and develop a mechanism for handling such matters.
The PTA finally lifted the ban in November 2021, after TikTok assured it would "control" the uploading and spread of "immoral and indecent content."