PTA bans Bigo in Pakistan, issues final warning to TikTok

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has banned live streaming app Bigo, and has also issued a ‘final warning’ to TikTok app on account of streaming vulgar content through their platforms.

“Number of complaints had been received from different segments of the society against immoral, obscene & vulgar content on social media applications particularly Tik Tok and Bigo, & their extremely negative effects on the society in general & youth in particular,” said PTA in a statement.

The regulator informed that it had issued necessary notices to the aforementioned social media companies under law to moderate the socialization and content within legal and moral limits, in accordance with the laws of the country. “However, the response of these companies has not been satisfactory.”

PTA added that in exercise of its powers under PECA, “PTA has decided to immediately block Bigo and issue a final warning to Tik Tok to put in place a comprehensive mechanism to control obscenity, vulgarity, and immorality through its social media application.”

Earlier, PTA announced that it has temporarily suspended online game PUBG, as the authority said that it had received several complaints about the game being “addictive”, a waste of time, and its potential negative impact on children’s physical and psychological health.