The Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Marriyum Aurangzeb, has announced that the government will develop a partnership with TikTok to celebrate Pakistan’s 75th Golden Jubilee and eventually promote patriotism among the youth.
She said this at a meeting with a delegation of TikTok led by its Regional Head for the Asia Pacific, Jiagen Eep, and suggested that TikTok – an application for making and sharing short videos – could also launch an awareness campaign in collaboration with the Pakistan Broadcasters Association (PBA).
Minister Aurangzeb also assured the delegation of the full support of the Ministry of Information.
She said that the constitution fully protects the rights of citizens, including their freedom of expression, but nobody will be allowed to use the platform for anarchy, the dissemination of fake news, or character assassination. Furthermore, any post that contravenes the provisions of the constitution cannot be allowed on social media platforms.
The minister emphasized the importance of educating citizens about the effective and appropriate use of TikTok and opined that its local administration should prefer the local language for the creation of public awareness. She urged TikTok’s management to take effective measures in cognizance of the reasons that had led to the previous bans of the platform.
Minister Aurangzeb said that it is imperative to sensitize the youth to the safety measures for the preparation of videos on TikTok and added that it is necessary to create awareness about the use of appropriate content on the platform among the parents (of its users) as well. She also mentioned that TikTok’s management may use the Information Service Academy’s platform for awareness purposes.
Young people needed to be sensitized to social and religious values vis-à-vis social media, the minister said and added that awareness drives for health issues could also be promoted on TikTok so that the maximum number of people may access such content.
The minister hoped that the platform will be highly instrumental in guiding the youth through a partnership with the government. She added that TikTok can also help to promote Pakistan’s culture and values.
The delegation informed Minister Aurangzeb that anti-state and blasphemous content has never been shared on TikTok and millions of videos were posted on the app to promote the national spirit for Pakistan’s National Day and the Pakistan Super League. It also assured her that the spirit will be kept alive and patriotism will be promoted among the youth in connection with Pakistan’s national days.