The Pakistan Telecommunications Authority said it had issued a notice to companies advising them to remove moderate live streaming content on dating services and their apps. The companies did not respond in a timely manner – hence the obstruction, the authority said.
The watchdog added that if it could “reconsider” the block Applications comply with local laws and moderate vulgar and unethical content.
Tinder and Grinder are popular in the United States and other western countries. But there is very little co-ordination of dating apps in deeply rooted, religious Pakistan.
According to data analytics firm Sensor Tower, Tinder was downloaded 440,000 times in Pakistan in the last 12 months, up from 13 million times in the same period in the United States.
Grinder – which describes itself as “the largest social networking app for gay, bisexual, trans and queer people” – has been downloaded 300,000 times in Pakistan, compared to nearly 2 million in the last 12 months in the United States.
According to the censor tower, tagged and sahihi each were downloaded about 300,000 times in Pakistan and scout 100,000 times in 12 months.
– Sophia Saifi contributed to this report.
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