July 27, 2026
By Muhammad Danial
PESHAWAR
A petition filed in the Peshawar High Court (PHC) seeking a crackdown on allegedly obscene, immoral, and blasphemous content on TikTok has reignited debate over social media use, government regulation, and freedom of expression. The court has made the Social Media Protection and Regulatory Authority a party to the case and sought a detailed response.
The petitioner’s lawyer, Barrister Babar Imran, said the purpose of approaching the court was to put an end to obscene, immoral, and blasphemous content on TikTok.
“Pakistan currently has no effective system through which the government or relevant institutions can directly remove objectionable content. Whenever a complaint is made about controversial material, the PTA has to contact TikTok’s management, but it remains unclear whether timely action is actually taken on it,” he said.
According to Barrister Babar Imran, it is precisely this failure of the regulatory system that leaves the younger generation continuously exposed to inappropriate content. For this reason, the court has been asked to impose a complete ban on TikTok in Pakistan. He recalled that TikTok has been banned in the past as well, and said he hopes the court will once again reach an appropriate decision this time.
However, not every legal expert agrees that a complete ban is the solution. Supreme Court lawyer Bashir Wazir Advocate holds a somewhat different position.
“It’s true that Pakistan lacks an effective system for monitoring objectionable content on social media, but a complete ban is not the solution to the problem. Pakistan sends hundreds of complaints to various platforms, but very few of them are acted upon, which is why controversial and illegal content remains online for long periods. This situation itself shows just how weak the current regulatory system is,” Wazir said.
According to Bashir Wazir, the government should either enact more effective legislation under the PECA Act, or establish an independent regulatory authority that can take swift action against illegal content on social media.
He added, “A complete ban is not the right approach, because TikTok has also become a source of employment, business, education, and positive activities for thousands of young people.”
Another important dimension of this debate is the perspective of TikTok users and journalists. TikTok user and journalist Muhammad Tayyab says that as a journalist, he also shares his news reports on TikTok, where local people follow him and get various kinds of information, including news.
“TikTok is not just a platform for entertainment — it has also become an effective medium for information and journalism. Its algorithm shows content based on the user’s interests, so if people watch and create positive, quality content, they will see more of the same kind of content.”
According to Muhammad Tayyab, TikTok should not be banned, because thousands of people’s livelihoods are tied to it, many businesses promote themselves through the platform, and numerous individuals’ income depends on it as well. In his view, instead of shutting the platform down, the government should regulate it effectively, so that illegal content can be curbed without harming its positive uses.
It should be noted that this is not the first time the matter of banning TikTok has reached the courts. In 2020 and 2021 as well, the Peshawar High Court ordered the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority to block TikTok over allegedly obscene and immoral content, though the ban was later lifted after TikTok’s management gave assurances of monitoring objectionable content and complying with Pakistani laws.
It remains to be seen how the court views this latest petition for a complete ban — or whether it instead directs the government to devise an effective system for regulating social media.