The Chinese-owned social media site Tiktok was banned by the Nepali government on Monday due to its detrimental impact on societal peace.
Rekha Sharma, the minister of communication and information technology and a spokesman for the administration, said that the Cabinet voted on Monday to forbid using TikTok.
The Ministry of Communication and IT will carry out the decision to prohibit Tiktok, according to her.
According to The Kathmandu Post newspaper, the Nepali government decided to outlaw Tiktok because of its detrimental effects on societal cohesion.
Social media platforms including Facebook, YouTube, X (previously Twitter), TikTok, and others are required to establish liaison offices in Nepal, according to a Cabinet meeting on Thursday.
The government stated that although the right of free speech is fundamental, TikTok has come under fire from a significant portion of the public for supporting a hate speech trend.
The video-sharing app has recorded 1,647 instances of cybercrime over the last four years, according to the research.
The subject was discussed earlier last week by representatives of TikTok, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and the Cyber Bureau of the Nepal Police. It stated that the decision made on Monday is anticipated to be put into effect after technical preparations are finished.
Sharma made it clear that the decision to shut down Tiktok will be carried out quickly by establishing a timeframe.
General Secretary of the Nepali Congress Gagan Thapa, however, voiced doubts over the choice.
The leader of the ruling party, Thapa, stated on X that “the government should regulate the social media site; the government’s decision to ban Tiktok is wrong.”
“The government’s decision needs to be corrected because it infringes upon both individual and freedom of expression,” he said.
The ruling is another blow to the Chinese social media site, which has been under investigation in a number of nations, including the US, India, UK, and EU, whose governments have blocked the program from using their networks due to security concerns.
