Lahore High Court Gets Another Request to Ban TikTok in Pakistan

An official constitutional petition has been lodged with the Lahore High Court, advocating for the ban of the popular social media platform, TikTok. The petitioner contends that the platform’s persistent dissemination of inappropriate content negatively impacts the youth. Rana Usman Anwar initiates the plea, represented by Advocate Sohail Ahmad Shaikh, with the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and federal government as respondents.

The petition underscores the surge in objectionable material on TikTok, linking it to the erosion of moral values among young individuals. It asserts that the platform’s content has led astray and adversely affected the youth, even resulting in tragic loss of life during video creation.

Also Read: TikTok will be banned in the United States next year.

Citing Article 5 of the Constitution, the petition highlights citizens’ duty to display loyalty to the state. It also notes other nations’ decisions to ban TikTok due to similar concerns.

TikTok has previously faced intermittent and brief bans in Pakistan for various reasons. While this is not the first attempt to ban the platform, it remains to be seen how the Lahore High Court will respond, given the platform’s prior resilience against such efforts.