The popular TikTok video-sharing app was blocked Wednesday in Pakistan for a fourth time because of "inappropriate content", the country's telecommunication regulator said.

The Chinese-owned site has fought a series of legal battles with religious activists and authorities in the conservative Muslim nation, and was shut down for two days earlier this month on the order of a provincial court.

Freedom of speech advocates have long criticised creeping government censorship and control of Pakistan's internet and media.

"The action has been taken due to continuous presence of inappropriate content on the platform and its failure to take such content down," the telecoms authority said in a statement.

A local TikTok representative did not immediately comment.

The app has a huge fan base in Pakistan, where many people use it to market and sell goods online.

But its critics in the deeply conservative Muslim nation say it promotes vulgarity and LGBTQ content.

In June, TikTok said it had removed more than six million videos available to Pakistan users in just three months following complaints from officials and ordinary users.

Around 15 percent of the videos removed were taken down because of "adult nudity and sexual activities", the company said.

Officials have previously asked YouTube to block content they deem objectionable, and several dating apps are prohibited.

Instagram tool lets users avoid 'sensitive' content
San Francisco (AFP) July 20, 2021 - Instagram on Tuesday added a way for users to adjust how tightly they want to filter out violent or sexually suggestive posts while they explore the image-centric social network.

A new "Sensitive Content Control" option at Facebook-owned Instagram lets people adjust whether they want to see more or fewer posts that some may find unpleasant or untasteful, according to a post.

"You can think of sensitive content as posts that don't necessarily break our rules, but could potentially be upsetting to some people - such as posts that may be sexually suggestive or violent," the Instagram team said.

The new tool applies to an exploration tool that recommends content users might find interesting at the image-centric social network.

People can stick with the default limit on sensitive posts, or opt to tighten or loosen the restriction.

"One exception to this: the Allow option will not be available to people under 18," Instagram noted.

The filtering option comes as social networks remain under pressure to thwart abusive or misleading posts while allowing people to freely express themselves.

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