������Ƶ

ISLAMABAD: Video-sharing platform TikTok said on Monday it had removed more than 25 million videos in Pakistan during the second quarter of 2025 for violating its community guidelines, stressing its efforts are aimed at maintaining a safe online environment for users.

TikTok shared the information in its Community Guidelines Enforcement Report, which covers data from April to June 2025.

The platform said the removals highlight its ongoing efforts to strengthen content moderation in one of its biggest markets, where authorities have repeatedly raised concerns over objectionable content and banned the app several times since 2020.

“In Q2 2025, TikTok removed a total of 25,448,992 videos in Pakistan for Community Guidelines violations,” it said in a press release. “TikTok proactively removed 99.7 percent of the videos, with 96.2 percent of these videos removed within 24 hours.”

TikTok said it removed 189.6 million videos worldwide during the second quarter of 2025, accounting for about 0.7 percent of all content uploaded to the platform.

Of these, it said 163.9 million videos were detected and removed using automated detection technologies while 7.4 million were later reinstated following further review.

“The report also indicates that a significant portion of total removed videos globally — 30.6 percent — contained sensitive or mature themes that did not align with TikTok’s content policies,” it said.

The platform said an additional 14 percent of the videos removed globally breached the platform’s safety and civility standards, while 6.1 percent violated privacy and security guidelines.

“Additionally, 45 percent of the removed videos were flagged as misinformation, and 23.8 percent of the videos removed were flagged as edited media and AI-generated content,” it added.

This is not the first time TikTok has removed videos from Pakistan. The platform removed nearly 25 million videos during the first quarter of 2025.

Pakistani authorities have banned the video-sharing app several times in the past, first imposing restrictions in October 2020 over what they described as widespread complaints about “immoral, obscene, and vulgar” content.

Since then, the service has been blocked three times, for a total of more than 15 months. In November 2021, a Pakistani court lifted the ban after TikTok assured the government it would curb the spread of objectionable content.

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan punished poor catching from South Africa to accumulate 259-5 on the opening day of the second and final Test in Rawalpindi on Monday.

Had the tourists not dropped five catches on a turning pitch they would have been in a better position after Pakistan won the toss and batted.

Skipper Shan Masood, dropped on 71 off a luckless Keshav Maharaj, top-scored with 87 while Abdullah Shafique — dropped four times — made 57.

Saud Shakeel and Salman Agha will resume on Tuesday unbeaten on 42 and 10 respectively, with the home team seeking a 2-0 series win against the world Test champions.

South African pacer Kagiso Rabada trapped Mohammad Rizwan with the fifth delivery with the second new ball for 19 to give some respite to his team.

Maharaj, who missed the first Test in Lahore through injury, took 2-63 and fellow spinner Simon Harmer 2-75.

With the bulk of bowling done by Maharaj and Harmer, spinner Senuran Muthusamy — who took 11 wickets in the first Test — was surprisingly used for just four overs.

The final session also saw Masood fall to an uppish sweep off Maharaj, caught by Marco Jansen, after hitting two four and three sixes in his innings.

Earlier, Shafique’s chancy knock finally ended when he edged Harmer to wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne after adding an invaluable 111 runs for the second wicket with skipper Masood.

The struggling Babar Azam, again cheered by a home crowd willing him to return to form, was dismissed for just 16 when Tony de Zorzi took a low catch at silly point for Maharaj’s first wicket.

Azam has gone 29 Test innings without a century.

Maharaj himself dropped Shafique on 15 off his own bowling and then saw Aiden Markram drop the same batter on 41 and 53.
Shafique also survived on nine when a Jansen delivery rolled onto the stumps but did not dislodge the bails.

In the morning session South Africa’s only breakthrough came from Harmer, who bowled Imam-ul-Haq for 17 with a sharp turner that beat the bat and hit off-stump.

Rabada was also unlucky when Tristan Stubbs dropped Shafique in the slips off the fourth ball of the match when he was on nought.

Having won the first Test in Lahore by 93 runs, Pakistan included a third spinner in Asif Afridi, dropping fast bowler Hasan Ali.

At 38 years and 299 days, Asif became the second oldest Pakistani Test debutant, behind Miran Bakhsh, who made his debut at 47 years and 284 days against India in 1955.