Pakistan bans five dating apps citing ‘unethical content’

Islamabad: Pakistan has banned  Tinder, Gridr and 3 other dating apps in its country. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (PTA) has said, ‘these social media platforms were allegedly serving ‘unethical content’ to the viewers and despite repeated warnings, these apps did not remove the content from their platforms.

According to PTI,  Pakistan has banned dating Apps such as Tinder, Tagged, Skout, Gridr and SayHi. These apps facilitate online dating and also live streaming of videos. These apps have been accused of showing pornographic content during live streaming.

The PTA claimed these apps were asked to remove the dating service and were instructed to monitor live streaming as per Pakistan’s local rules. However, apps failed to follow the guidelines and thereafter the action has been taken.

The PTA said, ‘These platforms including Tinder did not respond to the notice within the stipulated time, hence the authority has ordered a ban on these apps’ . PTA will reconsider the ban if all the obscene ‘immoral’ content is removed and the App complies with the laws of Pakistan.

Pakistan banned live streaming app BIGO two months ago. PUBG is banned citing addiction to the game. Apart from this, video-sharing service TikTok has been given a final warning on showing pornographic content. However, this ban was lifted in July when PUBG told the regulatory bodies of Pakistan that the parents’ concerns would be taken care of in this regard.