PTA temporarily suspends 'addictive' online game PUBG, citing health concerns
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The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) decided on Wednesday to temporarily suspend online game PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG).
In a statement, the authority said it had received several complaints about the game being "addictive", a waste of time and its potential negative impact on children's physical and psychological health.
"According to media reports, cases of suicide attributed to the game have also been reported. The Lahore High Court has also directed PTA to look into the issue and decide the matter after hearing the complaints.
"A hearing will be conducted in this regard on July 9," it said.
The PTA also urged the public to provide their feedback on the online game before July 10 by emailing the authority.
On June 23, Lahore Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Zulfiqar Hameed had recommended a ban on the online game.
The CCPO had taken up the matter with the higher authorities through a letter referring to the death by suicide of a teenage boy, who was an ardent player of the game.
He wrote to Punjab IGP Shoaib Dastagir seeking his help to move a reference to the authorities concerned for a ban on PUBG.
The action was proposed after a 16-year-old boy died by suicide in Hanjarwal area of Lahore after he failed to accomplish a mission he was assigned in the game within the stipulated time.
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Comments (60) Closed
Jul 01, 2020 06:51pm
Following India ?
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Jul 01, 2020 06:52pm
weird government
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Jul 01, 2020 06:53pm
Twitter and Facebook are more addictive and definitely cause psychological problems. Stop targeting kids.
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Jul 01, 2020 06:54pm
PUBG and other online games need to be banned permanently for the sake of future of this nation.
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Jul 01, 2020 07:00pm
Good only Chinese games be allowed ban korea
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Jul 01, 2020 07:06pm
I think this is a good step by the government but before banning PUBG the government should look into the effects of TIK TOK on our society. TIK TOK also has many negative effects on society, especially on the youth. I personally think that if the government shall ban PUBG then they should also ban TIK TOK along with it otherwise only banning PUBG won't do.
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Jul 01, 2020 07:10pm
Its good to nip the evil in the bud. Todays positive approach for the best tomorrow.
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Jul 01, 2020 07:13pm
Only Chinese games are good. Remove American, Japanese and Korean games.
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Jul 01, 2020 07:22pm
please put permanent ban.
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Jul 01, 2020 07:26pm
PUBG is Chinese game by Tencent FYI
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Jul 01, 2020 07:29pm
Too little, too late
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Jul 01, 2020 07:45pm
Ban not only PUBG but also all Chinese apps and games since those are injurious to mental health of people. Please see that several countries including India banned many Chinese apps and games.
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Jul 01, 2020 07:49pm
Good Step by Govt.
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Jul 01, 2020 07:51pm
I think it's not a good decision since the whole responsibility lies on parents. If I remember correctly, there was a Pakistani gamer rose to fame after winning tekken championship last year. Hence, not only this game but I'm sure all games provides proper platform like championship etc. You can not blame based on a single death, just like you can not blame on car where thousands have died in this accident.
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Jul 01, 2020 07:56pm
Please suspend 'Fortnight' as well
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Jul 01, 2020 08:01pm
are there parks or alternate avenues for physical activity in this country ???
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Jul 01, 2020 08:02pm
I think this is the bad step by government
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Jul 01, 2020 08:08pm
Pakistan's approach solving problems is not logical most of the time the authorities don't know the W.T.O terms of trade and the violation of these terms results in heavy losses in the end Pakistanis pay the price.
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Jul 01, 2020 08:27pm
Much awaited step... it should be banned permanently and the alternate games to it like call of duty mobile which is same as PUBG shall also be banned in advance.
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Jul 01, 2020 08:28pm
Please please ban this game, it's destroying our children and their future.
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Jul 01, 2020 08:37pm
Absolutely ridiculous. I’ll informed, ill educated decision. On what basis is this step taken? Has the government seen games like GTA, COD and other first person shooter? Absolutely lost their mind. Delusional. Whereas app like tik tok have turned all the users into a laughing stock. Beyond belief what people do on tik tok and they ban pubg.
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Jul 01, 2020 08:56pm
It is a good desion please keep ban
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Jul 01, 2020 08:57pm
There is no issue with this game all those who are committing suicide must have some other problems but those are not discussed if givernment is really concern with the deaths then why not takes any action about those have committed suicide due to educational issues those which are not given the justice this action about pubg is just disgusting kindly don't ban this game there are many other things to be watched after thank you
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Jul 01, 2020 09:18pm
but people can use by VPN if they want to play... no one can stop.. JAYE PUBG.....
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Jul 01, 2020 09:20pm
There is absolutely no scientific evidence regarding link of violence, succide and gaming. Its just a media hype to scapegoat in order to avoid reality behind a grave mental health issue
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Jul 01, 2020 09:35pm
@GreenOracle, no
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Jul 01, 2020 10:04pm
It is not the job of government to block these. Its job of parents to monitor their children.
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Jul 01, 2020 10:21pm
Very good decesion. Thanks to government. Thanks to PTA. Would really appreciate if this ban could be implemented permanently.
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Jul 01, 2020 11:09pm
The game is not only addictive but also expensive for the amount of data it sends and the amount of money one has to spend on purchasing supplies like cars, fire guns and skins of different items, for instance, upgrading one AR gun may cost upto Rs.50000 in Pakistan. In short, PUBG is robbing people across the globe of their money and precious time. It is therefore requested to permanently block it in Pakistan. I hope this feed back reaches to PTA through the prestigious Dawn. Regards
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Jul 01, 2020 11:12pm
I think banning pubg is not a good step by the government by the way there are many other things to look after such as impact of tik tok on our youth and many people have spent a lot of money on this game and many of them also earned alot by using their gaming skills so I don't think PUBG had a negative impact if it should be used under limits
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Jul 01, 2020 11:17pm
I don't think PUBG banning is a good step by the government because many of the people have spent a lot of money on this and many of them have earned a lot by using their gaming skills by the way there are many other things to look after besides PUBG such as TIK TOK that had hazardous effect on our youth so I don't really think that PUBG is harmful as it is used in limits so in my point of view it should not be banned
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Jul 01, 2020 11:29pm
Please never ban this game it is only for funn
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Jul 01, 2020 11:51pm
Pakistan should ban all the Chinese apps because privacy of data may not be guaranteed.
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Jul 01, 2020 11:51pm
Now wait for Chinese to stop loans
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Jul 02, 2020 12:05am
@Suhail, your absolutely right
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Jul 02, 2020 12:27am
Only one game? There are dozens more that are still being played online that are extremely dangerous and already banned in Europe and parts of the Middle East. The worst is 'Fortnite ' which is responsible for many tragic incidents and deaths. Government of Pakistan must ban all these games, only make available positive ones which teach useful lessons to kids ; and these should also be only available for fixed timings daily not 24/7 .
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Jul 02, 2020 12:28am
I want pubg banned forever in Pakistan.
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Jul 02, 2020 12:28am
@Suhail, very right..
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Jul 02, 2020 12:29am
I want pubg banned forever in Pakistan.
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Jul 02, 2020 12:53am
I want to say please do not ban the pubg. Because many people play pubg only for fun or enjoyment or time pass or the people who are alone or some one whose relationship broken play pubg .pubg players are good because they play pubg in free time but other people were busy in bad things like chatting or dateing with girls etc and so on.
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Jul 02, 2020 01:09am
The only people who would be happy with this ban are mostly those parents who themselves give expensive phones and ipads to there 12 year old kids who later play games so extremely that they turn out to be dull. I mean there are many many people who are earning from this game. They are making their ends meet due to playing this game. What about them? And from the comments below I can see how really educated our people are in this country that think that China will stop their funds if we ban this game. This game is not even Chinese. Well, Pakistan has always been called the "backward country" for a reason and now in addition there is another one and that's the game pubg mobile.
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Jul 02, 2020 02:17am
its a bad design..........................
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Jul 02, 2020 02:45am
#tag unbanned pubg
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Jul 02, 2020 04:46am
Raise Awareness.
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Jul 02, 2020 07:53am
This one is good step even lately taken this addictive game has destroyed the youth.
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Jul 02, 2020 08:38am
Without a clinical study proving the link, and instead relying on media reports is typically anecdotal of our approach. Perhaps some curbs for usage of digital devices at home, or the use of apps/software for parental control can be used at a personal level. Banning new age entertainment against the nostalgia for older forms of play is just about the definition of regressive.
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Jul 02, 2020 08:54am
PTA, I wonder if anyone working there on proactive basis? They all should be fired and fresh new blood should be hired on merit basis.
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Jul 02, 2020 09:07am
Parents are to be blamed, not video games. How much time the parents actually spend on their children's mental and physical health? Has anyone asked this question? Parents need to be educated that all Entertainment, including video games, should be taken in moderation and children should be taught to self discipline. This is a stupid short cut move by the government. Don't expect any positive results. You're just sliding the issue under the rug.
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Jul 02, 2020 09:51am
Good decision. Must be permanently banned. Access through VPN must also be addressed.
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Jul 02, 2020 11:44am
There is lots of hacker in this game and pubg team support them for some reason.
They will hacked your ID which you are using from two or three years now you lost it and pubg will never recover so i mean there is no security, there is no pro administration
That's why some time people lost conscious.
Pubg just protect their popularity.
Any things happen to you not a matter for pubg
I am also a pubg player this a good game to play but there no value for players
There is no security and no recovery for your information so i mean this is not good for some reason. If ban I think good idea.
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Jul 02, 2020 12:28pm
Very good decision from pakistan for pakistan. Good to follow your bade bhai...whatever the animity, between india and pakistan, it's like between brothers., dont allow 3rd person come and take advantage of fight between the brothers...
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Jul 02, 2020 12:32pm
It should be made permanent. In fact, mechanism should be placed to ban/block such games.
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Jul 02, 2020 12:47pm
#unban pubg
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Jul 02, 2020 12:47pm
#unban pubg
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Jul 02, 2020 02:38pm
@Brownman, You know whats more addictive TV new channels , physiologically it affects you, it addictive,and sitting watching tv is not some healthy exercise
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Jul 02, 2020 05:21pm
In addition, parents should interact more with their children to address their various needs before such accidents happen. Just cannot leave such matters for the government or authorities to fix everything.
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Jul 02, 2020 05:55pm
Pubg open
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Jul 02, 2020 05:57pm
#Unban Pubg
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Jul 02, 2020 06:45pm
please dont ban pubg
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Jul 02, 2020 08:56pm
un ban
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