ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Social media app TikTok on Wednesday said it is committed to cooperating with Iraqi authorities to strengthen its protection measures for its community in Iraq, two days after an Iraqi ministry announced plans to ban the platform for harming the country’s “social fabric.”
Iraqi Minister of Communications Hiyam al-Yasiri on Monday announced in a press conference the ministry’s plan to ban the mega social media app – used by millions in Iraq – for aiding in “dismantling the Iraqi social fabric.”
“We are committed to continue working closely with authorities to strengthen our safeguards for our community in Iraq,” a TikTok spokesperson told Rudaw’s Bizhar Zubair.
The spokesperson added that according to TikTok’s latest Community Guidelines Enforcement Report, their team has been “proactively taking down violent content in Iraq.”
“From October to to December 2023 only, we removed a total of 4,888,941 videos with a 98.8% proactive removal rate,” the spokesperson said.
Minister Yasiri’s request to ban TikTok is awaiting discussion at the Iraqi Council of Ministers. She justified her decision by lamenting the “lack of educational value in the app,” saying it is “purely an entertainment application.”
TikTok is hugely popular in Iraq, with its short videos having a massive audience especially among young people.
However, the app has repeatedly drawn controversy from parts of Iraq’s conservative population, who have accused it of ruining the country’s social fabric and having a detrimental impact on its young people.
During the press conference, Yasiri noted that a decision to ban the application exceeds her jurisdiction and would require the approval of parliament or the Council of Ministers.
Countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia have also expressed concerns about the app, particularly its Chinese ownership, and have initiated efforts to ban its use.
