⁍ Muhammad Ashfaq Jutt, 34, joined TikTok a year ago because it was becoming a popular platform and was cheaper than traditional advertising.

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⁍ He hoped to use TikTok to reach ordinary Pakistanis, joining a growing community of influencers in the country.

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⁍ The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority last week blocked access to TikTok.

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⁍ PTA cited unspecified public complaints about ‘immoral and indecent content

– “I thought this was a good way for me to help Pakistan, to help people get into shape,” Muhammad Ashfaq Jutt tells Reuters. “It was going well, but then the government decided to ban TikTok.” Jutt, a 34-year-old mixed martial arts specialist, says he joined the video-sharing app a year ago because it was becoming popular and cheaper than traditional advertising. “All kinds of people, from street sweepers to day laborers, have come to be world-famous using TikTok so I thought this was a good way to be known as well,” Jutt says. But last week, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority blocked access to TikTok, owned by China-based ByteDance, citing unspecified public complaints about “immoral and indecent content.” Jutt is challenging the ban in court, and his lawyer says he’s hopeful the ban will be overturned. “The judges asked rhetorically in court, if TikTok can be banned even though it has millions of videos because of a few offensive ones, why can’t the whole internet be shut down?” he tells Reuters. TikTok has been downloaded more than 43 million times in Pakistan, analytics firm Sensor Tower said, while the PTA said it is the third most popular social media app after Facebook and WhatsApp, with over 20 million active accounts. Although he only has 209 followers so far, Jutt hoped to use TikTok to reach ordinary Pakistanis, joining a growing community of influencers.