The PTA said it had banned users from accessing Tinder, Grindr, SayHi, Tagged and Skout after social media apps failed to “moderate content in accordance” with Pakistani laws.
News18.com
Last update: September 2, 2020 9:58 AM IST
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Pakistan has blocked access to Tinder and several other dating apps in an attempt to control “immoral” and “indecent” content, just days after regulators threatened to shut down YouTube for similar reasons.
Meanwhile, as always, Pakistani netizens were joking about it and asking, “What will happen to the men?”
The Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) said it had banned users from accessing Tinder, Grindr, SayHi, Tagged and Skout after social media apps failed to “moderate … content in accordance” with laws. from Pakistan.
The PTA said the ban addressed the “negative effects of immoral / indecent content.”
Shahzad Ahmad, director of the digital rights group Bytes For All, criticized the “moral vigilance” of the PTA.
“If adults choose to be on an app, it is not up to the state to dictate whether or not they should use it,” Ahmad said. AFP.
He described the ban as “a completely ridiculous measure” that people would find ways to circumvent.
The ban immediately took hold of Twitter, with netizens jokingly expressing concern for ‘married men in the country’.
What will elite married men do now without Tinder in Pakistan? khair elite hain will find other ways to cheat on their wives.
I can’t believe they banned tinder in Pakistan. How am I going to date men who tell me they thought I was a lesbian because now I’m too confident to be straight?
Tinder did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The PTA said apps could request to have their blocks removed if they show they are “moderating indecent / immoral content through meaningful engagement.”
The regulator did not specify what it meant by that commitment.
Last week, the PTA asked YouTube to immediately block all videos it deems “unacceptable” from being accessed in the country.
The lawsuit was criticized by rights activists who fear increasing censorship and control of Pakistan’s internet and print media.
And in July, authorities issued a final warning to Chinese-owned social media app TikTok, ordering it to filter out any obscene content.
The Muslim-majority country has several existing or proposed restrictions that are aimed at freedom of expression, usually in the name of Islam or national security.
