'Unsatisfactory response' prompts Pak to issue final warning to TikTok over 'immoral' content

Pakistan's telecommunications regulator on Monday issued a "final warning" to TikTok over "immoral" content posted on the platform.

TikTok, owned by China-based ByteDance, is already facing problems with authorities in a number of countries including in Australia, India, and the United States due to security and privacy issues.

The Indian government recently banned the app.

Also read: With India's TikTok ban, Chinese parent company ByteDance could lose up to $6 billion

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) said in a statement that it had sent TikTok to moderate content on their platforms after receiving complaints, but their response was unsatisfactory.

"PTA has decided to immediately block Bigo and issue final warning to TikTok to put in place a comprehensive mechanism to control obscenity, vulgarity and immorality through its social media application," the statement said.

TikTok is one of the world's most popular social media apps, with over 2 billion downloads globally.

Also read: TikTok in talks with UK government for new headquarters in London: Sources

In Pakistan, it has been downloaded almost 39 million times and is the third-most downloaded app over the past year after WhatsApp and Facebook, according to analytics firm Sensor Tower.

Though Pakistan is a socially conservative, mostly Muslim nation, it shares close ties with communist-ruled China. Pakistan counts China as its largest investor and most reliable ally.

(With inputs from Reuters)