Dubai: Jordan on Friday suspended the social Media platform TikTok across the Kingdom due to “user misuse and the platform’s failure to deal with content inciting violence”, local media reported.
A statement issued on Friday, the Kingdom’s Cybercrime Unit announced that its teams are following up on what is being posted on social media platforms, especially regarding hate speech, incitement to vandalism, and attacks on law enforcement agencies and property.
Competent authorities will refer anyone who commits such crimes to the judiciary, the unit added.
The decision comes a day after a senior Jordanian police officer was shot dead during protests on Thursday in the southern town of Al Husseiniya, as demonstrations against the rise in fuel prices continued.
Colonel Abdul Razzaq Dalabeh, the deputy police chief of Maan province, was shot in the head on duty, while officers tried to “calm down riots”, the Public Security Directorate (PSD) said in a statement.
The south of Jordan has been witnessing strikes and protests for several days against the rise in fuel prices that has added to the cost of living crisis. The hikes include the diesel used by trucks and buses, and kerosene for heating.
Truck and taxi drivers, as well as merchants, joined strikes this week, while videos posted online showed some protesters blocking roads and clashing with security forces.
The PSD said in a statement on Friday that it would use “appropriate” force against “rioters”.
