Islamabad (AFP)
The popular video-sharing platform TikTok was blocked Wednesday for the fourth time in Pakistan because of videos deemed "inappropriate", the Pakistan telecommunications authority said.
The Chinese app has already braved a series of legal battles with religious activists and authorities in this conservative Muslim country.
In particular, it was banned for two days earlier this month by order of a provincial court.
Free speech advocates have long criticized the Pakistani government's rampant censorship and control of the internet and media.
"The measure was taken due to the continued presence of inappropriate content on the platform and its inability to remove such content," the telecommunications authority said in a statement.
A local representative of TikTok, contacted by AFP, has so far not reacted.
The app has a lot of fans in Pakistan, many of whom use it to market products.
But critics of TikTok in this conservative Muslim country accuse it of promoting content that is vulgar or evokes LGBTQ communities.
In June, the company said it had deleted more than six million videos in three months in Pakistan, following complaints from users and officials.
About 15% of the videos removed were of "adult nudity and sexual activity," according to the company.
The Pakistani regulator had already asked YouTube to block videos considered "objectionable", and several dating platforms had been banned.
© 2021 AFP