Pakistan bans Tinder, Grindr over immoral content
Islamabad, Sep 2 (efe-epa).- The authorities in Pakistan have banned the mobile dating applications Tinder and Grindr, along with three others, for alleged immorality and indecency, an official source told EFE Wednesday.
“The content of these apps is against the law,” Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) spokesperson Khurram Mehran told EFE.
The PTA released a statement claiming that Tinder, Grindr, Tagged, Skout and SayHi applications have “negative effects of immoral/indecent content” that do not conform to the laws of the conservative south Asian country.
Extramarital relations are not permitted in Pakistan, and homosexuality is a criminal offense that is punishable by sentences of between two and 10 years in prison, even though it is rarely applied.
Tinder is a popular dating app with a worldwide presence, while Grindr is a similar app for LGTBI people.
The PTA said that it contacted those running the concerned applications to remove the dating services they provide on their platform and moderate their content, however there was no response from them.
“PTA issued notices to the management of above mentioned platforms for the purpose of removing dating services & moderate live streaming content in accordance with local laws of Pakistan,” said the telecommunications authority.
It added that they could reconsider the ban if the administrators of the companies that own these apps decide to abide by local laws related to moderation of immoral or indecent content.
For weeks, the conservative and Islamic state of Pakistan has been warning different online platforms to moderate their content.
In the month of July this year, the PTA asked TikTok, a social media app for sharing short videos, to moderate the content on its platform.
Moreover, last week the authorities asked Youtube to block content deemed to be vulgar, indecent or immoral from being accessible in the country.
Pakistan passed the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act in September, 2016, which has since been used by the authorities to ban content on the internet that they consider to be against the principles of the conservative nation.
Moreover, human rights organizations have criticized the law claiming that it facilitates censorship and limits freedom of expression in the country. EFE-EPA
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