Pakistan set to ban vulgarity, nudity and sexually explicit material on all social media websites.
Sindh High Court (SHC) has issued directions to the authorities for the removal of obscene material from social media sites.
“Remove all immoral, obscene and vulgar content from YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, Snapchat and other social media websites operating in Pakistan,” ordered the SHC chief justice.
The court has sought the report from authorities on it till February 20.
The court was hearing a case related to the presence of obscene material on Facebook and TikTok in the form of family vlogging. A citizen from Karachi has earlier filed the complaint with the court.
Courts in Pakistan, on different occasions, put ban on social media websites.
Pakistan is among the countries where porn websites are blocked for many years. The Pakistan Telecom Authority had blocked around 400,000 porn websites on the order of the Supreme Court in 2016.
The country has also restricted the TikTok operation in 2021. However, the ban was lifted on the top social media sites in the same year.
Millions used social media sites, which was a source of earning for thousands in the country.
“There were 87.35 million internet users in Pakistan at the start of 2023, when internet penetration stood at 36.7 percent. Pakistan was home to 71.70 million social media users in January 2023, equating to 30.1 percent of the total population.”
The Pakistan Telecom Authority acts as a regulator in the country. The authority is responsible for the establishment, operation and maintenance of telecommunication systems and the provision of telecommunication services in Pakistan.
