TikTok in talks with authorities following temporary ban in Jordan

AMMAN — Popular video app TiKTok said that negotiations are ongoing with the government for the app’sreinstatement in Jordan after authorities imposed a temporary ban on the social media platform in December 2022.

The Public Security Directorate in December announced a temporary ban on TikTok citing “misuse” of the applicationand the app’s “poor handling of posts inciting violence and disorder”, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra. 

“Creativity and innovation are instrumental tools for economic growth and sustainable development. At TikTok, we pride ourselves on building a community which is actively contributing to the creative ecosystem globally. We are also proud of our community in Jordan which has been inspiring creativity in different aspects whether its science, education or sports. 354 million views from Jordan to our #LearnonTiktok hashtag, and 138 million views of #Booktok is a testament to the creativity of this community,” the company said in a statement.

“We are also committed to keeping TikTok a safe and positive environment for our global community. We continue to improve and update our safety policies and tools, and our teams will continue to take appropriate actions against content that violates our Community Guidelines. Our Community Guidelines enforcement report shows that we aggressively and proactively take down violative content in Jordan,” the statement said. 

Citing its latest report, TikTok said that a total of 310,724 videos were removed in Jordan of which 86.6 percent were removed before receiving any views.

"We have faith that through our ongoing conversations with the authorities, we can arrive at a resolution that would allow TikTok to continue serving the millions of users in Jordan who have found a home for creative expression on our platform,” the statement said.