Calls to Ban TikTok Cause Furore in Morocco
(AWP) - Calls to ban TikTok in Morocco have been on the rise, as some users say the application is spreading content that is destructive and offensive to Moroccan culture.
They justify their demands by pointing to the psychological and moral risks to children and teenagers from content that impacts Morocco’s image.
According to Moroccan TikTok user Ayman al-Sanhaji, users themselves must improve the content shown on the application for it to become acceptable to society.
“I am sending a message to Moroccans: we are the ones who control the content of TikTok. I ask the community to improve the content, and not to follow vile content. This is how we can improve TikTok and make it a respectable platform,” he said.
Those calling for the TikTok ban similarly object to what they call the use of children to make financial gains, with content and games spread by the application stirring controversy due to their influence on Moroccan teenagers.
Fatima Ezzahra al-Tahri, a young Moroccan woman, is among those in favour of banning TikTok.
“For me, I prefer banning TikTok. We watch a lot of bad, shocking things that the young generation ploughs into. There will be a future strike If they continue to follow this content,” she said.
The Moroccan Parliament’s Communication, Culture and Education Committee has put forward a proposal discussing the ban of TikTok and other applications that have no safety policies or standards for use.
MP Khalifa Majidi warned of what he called the addictive nature of teenagers and children’s use of this type of applications.
“Unfortunately, in our country, it appears that young people use these social platforms with a sort of addiction. Unfortunately, the content is also seen by children, and it is immoral, and often devoid of benefit,” he said.
“Therefore, we asked the minister to take other measures to limit this phenomenon and its negative impact on Moroccan youth,” he added.
Addi Charji, Head of the Communication, Culture and Education Committee in the Moroccan House of Representatives, said that, “the TikTok issue was raised by one of the female parliamentarians in a session of the House of Representatives.”
“We, as the Communication, Culture and Education Committee, have not yet received anything from the parliamentary teams or from the government. We have not yet reached anything on this issue,” he added.
In a recent parliamentary session, a number of Moroccan representatives expressed their concern, and strongly denounced what they described as the low level of some users of social media platforms, specifically TikTok.