Nepal bans TikTok

Nepal cites China’s social media app as impact on ‘social cohesion’ Tick ​​tock has been banned.

Nepal External Affairs Minister Narayan Prakash Saud announced after the cabinet meeting that the app has been banned, with immediate effect.

Prakash Saud said, ‘The government has decided to ban TikTok as it was necessary to regulate the use of the social media platform which is disrupting social harmony, goodwill and the flow of indecent content. is.’

Tik Tok, owned by Chinese company ByteDance, has been banned by several countries including India and Afghanistan, while Britain, Australia and the European Union have restricted it.

Several Western countries have expressed concern over the use of the app by members of parliament and government, amid allegations that Beijing could use it to collect data or advance its own interests.

TikTok has repeatedly denied the allegations, saying it has never shared data with the Chinese government and would not do so even if asked.

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The decision comes days after Nepal introduced new laws to regulate social media, including the establishment of liaison offices.

Narayan Prakash Saud said the new rules have been brought in to make social media platforms more accountable. The government has asked the company to register in Nepal, open a liaison office, pay taxes and follow the country’s laws.

However, it is not clear why this ban was imposed or Tik Tok did not listen to Nepal.

Nepal Congress General Secretary Gagan Thapa took to social media platform X to question the government’s decision to ban the app and said it should have been restricted instead. “The government’s decision must be corrected as it is a violation of freedom of expression and individual freedom.”

The abrupt ban on TikTok by the Nepal government is concerning. My 2023 research with 249 adolescent girls in Kathmandu, Lalitpur, and Kavrepalanchowk revealed that 95% rely on social media, especially TikTok, for exploration and expression. (1/2)

— Bhawana Shrestha, PhD (@bhawana_sh79) November 13, 2023

The ban was criticized by many people on social media saying that the decision will affect millions of Tik Tok users in Nepal who are making money from it.

“Nepal’s gerontocrats don’t understand the importance of Tik Tok for young Nepalis,” said doctoral student Ajapa Sharma. Many people, housewives and young women earn money by creating content. Obviously, it is meaningless for non-retired politicians.’

Bhavana Shreshta, a professor at King’s College London, says the ban itself is “worrying” because it generalizes about the possibility that TikTok users disrupt social values.

According to local media reports, more than 1,600 cases of Tik Tok-related cybercrime have been recorded in the UK over the past four years.