Some are left ecstatic and some are left devastated in regards to the ban on popular streaming application ‘TikTok’ by the PTA (Pakistan Telecommunication Authority) for ‘immoral’ posting of content on the platform.
For some unknown reason the only solution to a problem on social media in Pakistan is to implement a ban and cut off all access. It is quite unfortunate that we as a country don’t understand what it means to solve a problem.
Will the ban on this popular app stop young individuals from recording and posting immorally? No, does it turn a blind eye to a much bigger problem? Yes. The matter only further emphasises the crisis at hand, which can be handled more efficiently if Pakistan would approach sensitive subjects with a little flexibility, putting aside an “ignorance is bliss” type mindset.
Jannat Mirza is one of the prominent famed TikTok stars who voiced out that the ban should not be permanent but temporary until a separate team is made to monitor content on the app itself. It might not be as simple as she states but her intentions are headed in the right direction. The problem goes much deeper than just the posting of immoral content, it goes all the way to how we lack sexual education in Pakistan, and how the discussion or premise of it being taught has been strictly discouraged and made taboo.
However, despite celebrities such as Imran Abbas and Shahid Afridi endorsing the ban against the video-sharing app, the Senate Committee strongly disagreed, stating that if said vulgar content was removed, the ban would be reversed. The committee then asked the PTA to provide detailed rules under which TikTok had been blocked. The relevant officials informed the committee that the ban was not ‘permanent’ as it could be reversed once the app management responsible assured the Government that they would abide by the laws of Pakistan.
Hopefully and gradually with time, a better approach can be taken regarding the assessment of said ‘problems’ or issues in society which are pending a verdict.