Tiktok Spokesperson Claims Action Being Taken Against Violations Of Community Guidelines

On Thursday, a spokesperson for TikTok revealed that the social media platform has been working on expanding its moderation capacity, with respect to the local language in Pakistan. They stated that the company has been working hard to review and consequently, take action on any content violations of its community guidelines. 

The spokesperson gave a statement revealing that TikTok has been working with various regulators to ensure that no community guidelines are being violated. Moreover, they expressed that the company is looking forward to serving millions of users on the social media platform, as well as its creators from Pakistan. The statement applauded the efforts being made by content creators on the app, who have found a platform for vital economic opportunities, creativity, and fun. 

According to the spokesperson, TikTok has brought out the passion harbored by the citizens of Pakistan. It stated that the app has been successful in bringing joy to many households across the country while providing a home for all those looking to showcase their talent and creativity. 

The statement from the spokesperson for TikTok came after the Sindh High Court (SHC) banned the social media platform in Pakistan due to its ‘immoral content’. On June 28th, a ruling from the court deemed the app to be promoting inappropriate content, as it celebrated LGBTQ-Pride Month. 

The latest ban is the third one that has been placed in the last two years. It will remain in place until the 8th of July, which is the date of the next hearing in the case brought against the social media platform. 

A bench of the SHC was responsible for issuing this order, while it heard a suit of declaration and injunctions. In it, the petitioner nominated the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), the Federal Government, as well as TikTok, as the respondents in the case. 

In the month of March, the Peshawar High Court (PHC) gave an order to PTA to ban TikTok in the country, accusing the social media platform of producing and marketing immoral content. 

However, the ban was lifted by the PHC on the 1st of April, after PTA revealed to the court that the issue was personally raised with the administration of TikTok. 

On the 30th of June, it was further reported that the worldwide platform for sharing and creating short videos, just released its quarterly transparency report. As per this report, Pakistan is currently the second-largest market across the globe to have videos taken down that violate the community guidelines of TikTok, as well as Terms of Service. Moreover, these videos were also promoting misinformation related to the novel coronavirus. 

During the months of January, February, and March of this year, 61,951,327 videos were removed across the globe, which sums up to less than 1% of the overall videos posted to the social media platform. From these videos, TikTok discovered and removed around 91% even before they were reported by a user.