Pakistan registers BIGO LIVE and Likee apps with PTA

If you’re a Pakistani resident in Kuwait who opens BIGO LIVE or Likee every evening to chat, watch, or send a gift to someone back home, a small regulatory change in Pakistan is worth knowing about. It won’t change your day in Kuwait directly, but it affects the app you’re using and the people on the other end of your screen.

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has formally registered both BIGO LIVE, the live streaming app, and Likee, the short video app, in Pakistan. Both apps are run by Bigo Technology, and the registration was confirmed on Wednesday.

What exactly did PTA do?

Under Pakistan’s 2021 online content rules, every platform and social media company operating in the country must register with PTA. This covers how content is handled, how unlawful material is removed, and what safeguards the platform must put in place for users.

BIGO LIVE and Likee have now completed this registration process. Bigo Technology, the company behind both apps, is confirmed as operating in line with PTA’s requirements. This is not a new law. It’s an existing registration rule that these two apps have now formally satisfied.

Is this the first app to do this?

No. TikTok already self-registered with PTA under the same rules some time ago. Reports also mention that Snack Video, another short video app popular in Pakistan, has gone through a similar process. So BIGO LIVE and Likee are joining a list of platforms that have already brought themselves in line with Pakistan’s local content rules, rather than being the first to do so.

What does this mean for users?

For users inside Pakistan, registration generally means continued, stable access to the apps without the risk of a sudden block. It can also bring local safety and reporting tools, and changes to what content is available to users inside the country, since the platform is now formally answerable to PTA under local law.

For Pakistani residents here in Kuwait, the direct effect is limited, since Kuwait has its own separate rules for apps and online content. But many users in Kuwait still connect with Pakistan-based accounts, join live streams hosted from Pakistan, or follow creators there. If PTA’s registration brings changes to moderation or reporting features on these apps, users in Kuwait watching or interacting with Pakistan-based content may notice those changes too.

It’s also a reminder that app rules differ from country to country. A platform that’s fully compliant in Pakistan still has to follow Kuwait’s own regulations for anyone using it here. For more on how digital rules affect expats, see our international news coverage.

What’s still unclear

The source does not say whether any new safety or reporting features have already gone live on BIGO LIVE or Likee, or whether this is just the registration step with feature changes to follow. It also doesn’t name a date for when Bigo Technology first applied, or whether any other Bigo products are affected. We’ll treat those details as unconfirmed until PTA or Bigo Technology says more.

Other big platforms are reportedly still working to meet the same local rules before they can keep operating freely in Pakistan, so expect more names to join this list in the coming months.

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