“Pakistani citizens will be accustomed to a repressive level of censorship to prevent citizens from accessing LGBTQ content, nudity and anything deemed immoral, and due to the fact that extramarital affairs are also illegal, dating sites are now being targeted as the government believes they could be powered by online dating apps.” Extramarital affairs and homosexuality are illegal in Pakistan, the second largest Muslim-majority country in the world. A spokesman for the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) told BBC Urdu that as a result, the decision had been made to bring the management of these platforms into a “moral and legal realm”. Pakistan, the second largest Muslim-majority country in the world after Indonesia, is an Islamic nation where extramarital affairs and homosexuality are illegal. Pakistan banned Tinder, Grindr, Tagged, Skout and SayHi last October, citing “immoral” and “indecent” content. Activists across the country protested the move, saying it was taken simply to appease conservative factions and further discriminate against LGBT people. People looking for single members out there often look into these cities too. Pakistan`s Telecommunications Authority said it had asked companies to remove dating services and moderate live content in their apps. Companies did not react in time – so the blockade, the authority said. A popular Twitter account, which saw this as interference in the lives of consenting adults, called on Pakistan to curb the Moulvi culture that legitimizes rape and to take a close look at inbreeding that harms the health of Pakistani livestock. Young people across the country are reportedly turning to private groups on the social media site to find romantic partners after the government banned Tinder and other popular dating apps. Tinder tests video chat – a feature for quarantine periods The government has asked Tinder, Grindr, Tagged, Skout and SayHi to remove dating services. Do you need someone to brave the crowds at a festival with you? Or maybe you just want someone who cares about climate change as much as you do. With 55 billion matches to date, we`re no strangers to linking.
Your relationship with online dating is now even better: Tinder has features to help you get maximum exposure and get noticed by the people you love. Meet friends who love coffee as much as you do, or find someone who can compete with you in badminton. And if you need to leave the city, our Passport feature lets you travel to over 190 countries in over 40 languages – it`s all possible on Tinder. Almost two-thirds of Pakistan`s population is under the age of 30, so banning dating apps has presented significant barriers to finding love. And given the global nature of Facebook, they can also connect with people in other countries. A user met and eventually married someone from Australia. Posing as a social networking and online dating app for LGBT people, Grindr was sold this year by a Chinese company for $620 million to a group of investors called San Vicente Acquisition. Some observers say these Facebook groups still resemble the experience of arranged marriage, where women are judged on their physical characteristics and men on their wages. “We welcome the opportunity to discuss our products and moderation efforts with the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority and look forward to a meaningful conversation,” she added. Grindr`s chief operating officer, Rick Marini, said in a statement that the company was “deeply disappointed” by the ban.
Critics say Pakistan has used recent digital legislation to try to restrict freedom of expression online by blocking content or ordering the removal of content deemed immoral, as well as information critical of the government and military. In July, Pakistan issued a “final warning” to short video app TikTok for explicit content posted on the platform, while live streaming app Bigo Live was blocked for 10 days for the same reason. Tinder, a globally popular dating app, is part of Match Group MTCH. O during Tagged and Skout belonging to Meet Group MEET. O are. In January 2021, she finally posted her profile in the Facebook group and was overwhelmed by the response. “From the moment my profile grew until my profile was present in the group, the news didn`t stop. At first. I had to sit for an hour and a half to clean up my email requests and spam.
In September 2020, the Pakistani government banned five dating apps – Tinder, Grindr, Tagged, Skout and SayHi – for spreading “immoral” content. By then, Tinder had become the most popular dating app in Pakistan, downloaded more than 440,000 times in the 12 months prior to the ban, according to data from analytics firm Sensor Tower. Pakistan`s telecommunications authority said it had sent notices to the management of the five apps “to keep an eye on the negative impact of streaming immoral/indecent content.” “While we appreciate the broad discretion given to the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority, we are looking for ways to serve the LGBTQ community in the region,” Marini said. Users also said Facebook groups feel safer than Tinder, which this year introduced a feature that offers users criminal background checks — for $2.50 per check. You already know the best place to find people near you, but where are you going to take them? We have you. Here are the best hangouts and popular ideas in town: Press release: PTA has blocked access to five dating/livestreaming apps, namely Tinder, Tagged, Skout, Grindr, and SayHi. pic.twitter.com/gFJxsgcn6m Tagged and SayHi have each been downloaded about 300,000 times in Pakistan and Skout 100,000 times in the past 12 months, according to Sensor Tower. About 64% of Pakistan`s population is currently under the age of 30, and the ban on dating apps has left people with limited opportunities to find partners. The only option for most was the traditionally arranged marriage process, which can be patriarchal, restrictive, and expensive, as Rishta aunts charge between 20,000 rupees (about $100) and 100,000 rupees (about $500) for each game. Pakistan on Tuesday banned access to five online dating/live streaming mobile apps, including Tinder and Grindr, citing “the negative effects of immoral/indecent content disseminated via apps.” Companies did not respond to the notices within the deadline, the regulator added. Facebook dating apps and singles groups offer an alternative to traditionally arranged marriages, which account for “up to 80 percent of marriages” in the country and are typically arranged by older or older women, Tahir Andrabi, an economics professor at Pomona College, told PBS.
According to a DW report, other dating apps are also becoming increasingly popular in Pakistan. “MuzMatch is exclusively for Muslims looking for a date. Although Bumble is relatively new to the online dating market, it is a favorite among many Pakistani feminists as women initiate the first conversation,” the report said. Use Tinder to spend time with someone who shares your interests, spend the night exploring with a new friend, grab a drink at a local bar, or enjoy a coffee date at a nearby coffee shop. Or go sightseeing in the city to discover or rediscover the best activities in the city. Pakistan banned a number of dating apps, including Tinder, Grindr, Tagged, Skout and SayHi, in September 2020 for “immoral” and “indecent” content. The year before, more than 440,000 Pakistanis had downloaded Tinder, according to analytics firm Sensor Tower. Pakistani authorities reiterated this concern to TikTok officials at a recent meeting.
Our standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. Potshots on the quality of people on Tinder, thanks to the Pakistani company. A Tinder spokeswoman said it invests significant resources in monitoring and removing inappropriate content. While Pakistan wins, India dominates the South Asian online dating market, according to the report. Additional reporting by Umar Farooq in Islamabad; Edited by Mark Heinrich Listen to The Refresh, real-time news broadcast by Insider users told the rest of the world that Facebook groups are often safer than dating apps and that moderators ensure a certain level of digital hygiene. When Alina used Tinder, men often searched for her name on Facebook and Instagram and sent unwanted messages. Once, after seeing her Tinder profile, a stranger tracked down her phone number thanks to a friend who went to the same college as Alina and sent her a voicemail on WhatsApp. He said he saw her with his friends in a café.
“It basically meant I was being watched; Like this guy was chasing me,” Alina said. Rest of World reached out to Tinder for comment and did not hear a response at the time of publication. Pakistan`s telecommunications authority has also threatened to block TikTok, the popular video-sharing app that is under enormous pressure in the United States. Young people in Pakistan are turning to private Facebook groups to find romantic partners after the government banned five popular dating apps, including Tinder, reports the rest of the world. It has also banned access to Facebook, Twitter and YouTube in recent years. Facebook matchmaking groups, aimed exclusively at Pakistanis, sprang up during the pandemic, gathering tens of thousands of members. These include bands such as Two Rings, Soul Wonders and People of IBA and LUMS – Rishta Edition. Pakistan`s best-known Facebook dating group, Two Rings, was founded in 2019 by Fakiha Khan, who had previously founded other well-known Facebook communities such as Salons in Pakistan and Careers in Pakistan. Two Rings, which is run by volunteers and charges no fees to its users, currently has nearly 228,000 members and at least 335 couples have found spouses through the group, according to Khan.