Calls have been made on Twitter to ban TikTok after a 16-year-old boy in Sialkot lost his life while recording the video on the application.
Ammar Haider, a teenage student from Sialkot, died after a gunshot struck him while taping the TikTok video. The video shows Ammar held a pistol and fired at his stomach that caused his death.
The family of the deceased accused Ammar’s friend, Zohaib, for killing him. Zohaib, however, has denied all the accusations. He said that Ammar shot himself while recording the video.
It's not like Fahad's own game show Jeeto Pakistan is any less lowbrow.
More: https://t.co/1wVSc9tXHq#FahadMustafa #JeetoPakistan #TikTok #twitterclappedback pic.twitter.com/GSBGMs0Lnm
— Images (@dawn_images) December 30, 2019
Following the incident, calls have been made on Twitter for the government to regulate the controversial social media application, TikTok. The application soon trended atop on Twitter. Where social media users agreed that parents are responsible to regulate children’s use of social media applications, they also asked the government to introduce a mechanism to regulate TikTok.
Popular actor and Jeeto Pakistan host, Fahad Mustafa, also joined the call asking parents to be vigilant of the activities of their children particularly related to social media use.
Read more: TikTok apologises for removing viral Xinjiang clip
A set of social media users, argued that merely banning the social media application is not the solution because it is generating incomes for several people, however, educating adults and children on the meaningful use of TikTok for content creation will be helpful.
To All the parents out there plz keep your kids away from this tik tok bullshit its not healthy. Entire nation is busy doing nothing .#DoSomethingProductive
— Fahad Mustafa (@fahadmustafa26) December 29, 2019
Agreed! This is a new way to destroy the youngest generation.
— Tahmoor Nazeer (@TahmoorNazeer) December 29, 2019
According to reports, TikTok has claimed 37 lives across the world. The highest number of cases have been reported in India and Pakistan. While the ban has been promulgated on TikTok in several Indian states, concerned authorities in Pakistan also need to control the use of TikTok.
Besides the life-threatening consequences of the social media application, it has been noted that TikTok also promoted pornography and obscenity in society. Hence a petition had been filed in Lahore High Court earlier this month seeking a ban on the application.
Lahore High Court (LHC) has sought a reply from PTA and federal government on a petition seeking the imposition of ban on video application TikTok. A single bench of LHC headed by Justice Shahid Mubeen took up the petition for hearing. The petition has been filed by local lawyer Nadeem Sarwar.
https://twitter.com/SabaKha33083612/status/1211552547590328320?s=20
This government's immature cabinet is turning out to be a #tiktok sensation.
I request the voters who voted for @PTI including me to search another party who'll make a new Pakistan….🤣🤣@ImranKhanPTI @pid_gov @ARYNEWSOFFICIAL @siasatpk @khinews81 @ShkhRasheed— 𝕸𝖚𝖍𝖆𝖒𝖒𝖆𝖉 𝕬𝖉𝖎𝖑 𝕶𝖍𝖆𝖓 (@MeIsAdilkhan) December 30, 2019
Teen shot dead while recording a #TikTok video in #Sialkot#DialoguePakistan
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The petitioner demanded the ban on TikTok and claims that it is disastrous for the young generation. The petition argues that TikTok wastes time and money and promotes obscenity in society. The lawyer Nadeem Sarwar, in his application, even made startling claims that application TikTok is allegedly promoting online harassment and blackmailing.
Earlier, this year in April, the popular video-making application was removed from Google and Apple app stores after a state court’s decision in India. The state court of Tamil Nadu prohibited its download.
Read more: TikTok promoting Pornography & Pedophilia: Petition filed in LHC
A Southern Tamil Nadu court had ordered the federal government on April 3rd to ban TikTok citing that it encouraged pornography and pedophilia.
Resultantly, the federal government wrote a letter to Google and Apple requesting it to follow the court’s decision. According to the Indian Information Technology ministry, Google has reportedly blocked access to TikTok in its play store in India.
https://twitter.com/ambreenrehman4/status/1211509568716582912?s=20
Sad to hear about Ammar on News #Tiktok must be ban in #Pakistan https://t.co/ehNUDew9hk
— Abdul Qadeer (@Ju_no0n) December 29, 2019
The application has already been banned in Bangladesh while it was slashed with heavy fines in the USA for illegally collecting information from children. Indian Supreme Court had rejected the appeal of TikTok to suspend its decision of banning the application on Monday. The apex court will again hear the case on April 22nd.
Pakistan, too, should seriously consider the ban on application owing to the serious allegations on it and with child abuse rampant in the society.