Nepal announced its intention to ban the widely used video-sharing app TikTok, an online platform owned by a Chinese firm, on Monday to maintain social peace and allay growing worries about abuse. The decision follows a surge in TikTok cybercrime cases, with local media reporting over 1,600 in the previous four years.
Nepal's Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Rekha Sharma, announced this during a cabinet meeting on Monday.
According to Sharma, the TikTok ban intends to address the disruptions to social cohesion brought about by the usage of the video-sharing social media app. The official also acknowledged in a statement that colleagues are actively working on implementing the technical areas of the Nepal TikTok ban, according to Reuters.
Nepal TikTok Ban Draws Criticism
Nepal Telecom Authority Chair Purushottam Khanal noted that internet service providers in the country were ordered to shut down the TikTok app; several have already done so, and others are anticipated to follow later in the day.
TikTok has not answered inquiries for comment on the case, despite the verdict. The platform, owned by Chinese firm Bytedance, challenged similar prohibitions in the past, claiming that the actions were founded on "misconceptions."
Meanwhile, opposition leaders in Nepal have questioned the move's efficiency, maturity, and responsibility. Senior Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) leader Pradeep Gyawali stressed the necessity for regulation over an outright TikTok ban, citing the existence of comparable issues on other social media platforms.
Nepal Starts Implementing Further Restrictions on Social Media Firms
The Nepal TikTok ban decision came after the government unveiled the "Directives on the Operation of Social Networking 2023." According to The Kathmandu Post, these new regulations mandate that social media companies that do business in Nepal set up offices in the country. The most recent mandate from a Cabinet meeting requires social media companies to establish liaison offices in Nepal, including Facebook, YouTube, X (formerly Twitter), and TikTok.
Social media companies are required to open an office or name a focal point in Nepal within three months of the directive going into effect. The government is carrying out this to streamline consumer complaints and remove harmful information from these social media platforms. Furthermore, companies that fail to register their social media profiles with the Ministry of Information and Communication Technologies run the possibility of having their accounts closed down.
Notably, in June 2020, India, the neighbor of Nepal, outlawed TikTok and many other applications created by Chinese developers, claiming that doing so would jeopardize the integrity and security of the country. Likewise, TikTok has been repeatedly banned in Pakistan because of material deemed "immoral and indecent," as per a report on CNA.
TechTimes previously reported that the European Union, under its Digital Services Act, asked TikTok to submit details on its child protection procedures by November 30.
