STAFF REPORT IBD: PTA has issued orders to all cellular phone companies to end all chat room services with pressing effect as these services are not suitable to social norms and considered immoral in our society.
According to PTA directives, Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-organization) Act 1996 is obliged to regulate competition in the telecommunication sector and to protect consumer rights and to ensure that the interests of users of telephony services are duly watched over and protected.
It has been noticed with fantastic appeal that certain unholy market practices/packages against the norms of social structure.
These chat services are destructing moral values of the society, which are being introduced by all mobile phone operators, the PTA directives stated.
The telecom watchdog stated that it had received various complaints from Standing Committee of the Parliament, Senators, MNAs and Consumers complaining about the packages such as Warid Voice Chat by Warid Telecom; Chat Line by Zong; Gup Shup corner by Mobilink; Talk Shalk Friends by Telenor and Ufone Dost by Ufone.
The authority said that it invited representatives of Government Relations Department of all cellular phone companies who admitted in the meeting that the content of the services are not in line with the moral values of the society.