One of the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority’s (PTA’s) tasks is “to investigate and adjudicate on complaints and other claims made against licensees arising out of alleged contraventions of its Act”.
Using its powers, the PTA recently banned popular video-sharing app Tik Tok after, what it says, receiving complaints from different segments of society. Earlier, the PTA gave a final notice to Tik Tok and gave the application considerable time to respond and comply with instructions for development of an effective mechanism for proactive moderation of unlawful online content. This step was taken after the Tik Tok management failed to implement the directions of the PTA to curb “unlawful and immoral contents” and save millions of the youngsters from its evil and unhealthy impacts. Such a positive and preventive step in fact should have been taken much earlier.
In the era of information technology, every now and then new applications generating comedy and entertainment contents are being launched. Some of these mobile Apps are such which like others are destroying precious time, wealth and morals of the youth. Tik Tok tops such a list.
Also, Prime Minister Imran Khan is very much concerned about fast-spreading nudity and vulgarity and he has directed all authorities concerned to check such unhealthy trends lest social and religious values and traditions of Pakistani society go astray. The prime minister has also issued directions to departments for evolving a comprehensive strategy for curbing vulgarity spreading through social media and its applications.
A Chinese company launched the Tik Tok app in September 2016. Just after more than a year in November 2017, Tik Tok bought the app at $1 billion. Within no time, the app became famous around the world and by 2018, only in the USA, 80 million consumers had downloaded it. In the same year, it had been downloaded by 800 million consumers in the world as it was then available in 150 countries around the globe in 75 languages.
In the Tik Tok app, a video of 15 to 20 seconds can be uploaded while the user is only required to move their lips. In this very short duration video, words with double meanings are spoken; strange and odd movements and actions are done and in order to draw the attention of the viewers. In the process, all moral limits are crossed.
If you are not the user of this mobile application, you just cannot imagine that this has addicted a large number of the people, particularly the youth, just like a drug after which its damages and losses have started surfacing.
Youths just lose their senses and act like mad people so that they win over more and more likes and followers among the viewers with the sole objective of making money. There are many girls and boys in Pakistan who have followers in millions. Youngsters viewed them as their ideals and started following and acting like them putting their studies and jobs aside. This application has its own ideals and heroes.
Earlier, on Facebook, Whatsapp, Instagram and many other apps were being used intentionally or otherwise for obscenity and vulgarity and the Tik Tok was just an addition to the list destroying the moral values of our society.
One can only be grateful to the PTA for imposing a ban on Tok Tok and saving society from moral destruction though in a somewhat delayed manner.
Some raised their voices against this ban are only doing so because they want money, no matter it comes at the cost of morality, respect, and civilization. They do immoral, vulgar, and double meaning actions without applying their minds to what they are doing.
People want all this for laughter and spending some moments from their tough and rough life. Not only in Pakistan but all over the world Tik Tok is being used and abused negatively.
A report recently published in the USA said that incidents of sexual harassment, rape do occur in the US because of such mobile apps and vulgar scenes.
Such things have confronted the mobile users with a strange sort of danger because when a person wants to use his/her mobile for its positive use, he suddenly receives a vulgar video out of nowhere. This is just like a double-edged sword which cuts the hands from both sides. Even if you try to use your mobile for good and positive objectives still it would be buried under millions of immoral videos.
As much as 90 percent of followers and consumers are just aged less than 30 years when one is moving to attain maturity. He commits all sorts of wrongs and mistakes during this period. But when he realizes he has lost precious time and health of his young age at the hands of such unessential and avoidable apps.
In Pakistan, over 60 percent of youth are under 30 years of age. They can revolutionize the world of technology by adopting the right approach.
Making money by becoming a star on Tik Tok is not something big. Real work worth appreciation to make such apps that benefit humanity at large and the country earns precious foreign exchange.
This work, which the PTA has done, was in fact for the parents to do as they are basically responsible for the upbringing, training, and education of their children. But it only is said with regrets that the parents these days, by and large, feel help before the children. The children cannot be forced to do anything that the parents want but still, efforts should continue in a determined way to keep telling the children as to what is good or what is bad for them.
Media have during the last few months been reporting cases where youth met death while trying to make a Tik Tok video. A number of youth has also committed suicides when they were stopped from using these apps.
The ban on Tik Tok imposed by the federal government must be maintained, and no external or internal pressure should be entertained on this issue only to safeguard social values and traditions.
The writer is Lahore-based freelance journalist and retired deputy controller (News), Radio Pakistan, Islamabad, and can be reached at zahidriffat@gmail.com
