Pakistan Bans Dating Apps Tinder and Grindr For “Indecent Content” 

Pakistan has banned five apps on the grounds of having “indecent and immoral content,” including popular dating app Tinder and gay dating app Grindr.

According to CNN Business, the country’s oversight agency for Telecom services, The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, also blocked Tagged, Skout, and SayHi, noting that these apps had violated local laws. The Authority said it had given notice to these companies to remove the dating services and to moderate livestream content on their platforms. When the companies didn’t respond in enough time, it blocked them.

TikTok was also issued a warning according to CNN Business, over "immoral, obscene and vulgar content" found on the app. TikTok met with the Pakistani Authority in late August, and after removing some of its problematic content, is still available in the country.

Tinder issued a statement to Al-Jazeera who asked for a response to the ban, saying: "Our team uses a network of industry-leading automated and manual moderation and review tools, systems and processes - and invests significant resources - to prevent, monitor and remove inappropriate content from our app."

The company went on to add: "At the same time, we are constantly evaluating and refining our processes, and will always work with regulators and law enforcement, where possible, to protect our members.”

Pakistan has taken initiative in going after online content that it deems problematic or indecent according to strict religious guidelines. The country is the second largest Muslim-majority country after Indonesia, and it criminalizes extramarital relationships and homosexuality.

Local journalists have decried the bans by The Authority as censorship, giving the conservative government even more control over Pakistan’s Internet and media. One noted that the agency was on a “moral policing spree,” and adding: “what’s next, streaming sites?”

Dating apps have had rocky histories in deeply conservative and religious countries. Grindr launched a feature earlier this year that allowed its users hide the dating app’s icon on their phones to assist with privacy in areas where gay daters could be targeted. 

Grindr also recently partnered with UrSafe to provide more safety features on its app, including a 60-day trial period of the safety app’s VIP service that includes location sharing and emergency calling.

According to research firm Sensor Tower, Tinder was downloaded 440,000 times in Pakistan in the last 12 months compared to 13 million times in the United States during the same period. Grindr was downloaded 300,000 times in Pakistan compared to nearly 2 million in the United States in the last 12 months.