Google, the largest search engine and video-sharing platform in the world, is ready to construct a liaison office in Pakistan, although Twitter and Facebook have stated they are unable to open offices there shortly.
According to an announcement made on Friday by IT and Telecom Minister Syed Aminul Haque, the global juggernaut has already registered itself as a corporation in Pakistan.
“Google is slated to send a group from Singapore to Pakistan early next week, and the corporation will probably announce the opening of a functioning office here,” Haque told local media.
He also revealed TikTok’s agreement to open a liaison office in Pakistan.
Google, however, has already grabbed the lead in this department and the company is already registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP).
The Removal and Blocking of Unlawful Online Content (Procedure, Oversight, and Safeguards) Rules 2021 provide that registration is the initial step in establishing the office.
The regulations also stipulate that social media sites must have their “servers” in Pakistan to guarantee the security of the data. The data for all platforms is currently kept outside of the country.
The IT minister recently voiced hope that other social media companies would open operations in Pakistan, industry sources according to local media reports claimed that Twitter and Meta have so far shown hesitation.
