Watan-Iraq is moving to become the first Arab country to block the TikTok application, after Iraqi Minister of Communications Hayam al-Yassiri submitted a request to the Cabinet in this regard.
The Iraqi News Agency quoted al-Yassiri as saying that representatives of the people in the parliament should cooperate to block such applications.
Al-Yassiri added that the number of visits by Iraqis to pornographic websites decreased from half a billion views in January 2024 to 89 million visits in February of this year.
Interest in Pornographic Websites
It is worth noting that the Federal Supreme Court issued a decision on March 14 to block websites, internet networks, social media platforms, and electronic communication applications that include the production and dissemination of immoral and indecent clips, content that violates morals and decency, and content that offends modesty, violates divine sanctity, sanctity of holy books, insults prophets, messengers, religious symbols, insults religions and sects, promotes and disseminates immorality, vice, prostitution, sexual deviance, and exposes others to harm and insult.
This decision has raised questions about whether it will be followed by a ban on specific social media applications or whether it will suffice to ban specific accounts.
Number of TikTok users in Iraq
The number of TikTok users in Iraq has risen to 31.95 million users this year, up from 23.88 million users last year, surpassing all other social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube in a country with a population of 43.5 million people.