- Nepal’s government on Thursday decided to lift a ban imposed last November on the video-sharing app TikTok on the grounds that it disrupts “social harmony”.
- The agency also said it was issued on the initiative of Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli, who issued a directive saying all social networking sites should be treated equally.
OUR TAKE
TikTok, owned by China’s ByteDance, is facing scrutiny in many countries amid concerns that Beijing may use the app to collect user data or promote its interests. But considering the rapid growth of social media networks, ensuring fairness in social networking is bound to be a major trend in order to promote the flow of information for the country’s overall technological development.
— Iydia Ding, BTW reporter
What happened
Nepal‘s government on Thursday decided to lift a ban imposed on video-sharing app TikTok in November last year on the grounds that it was disrupting “social harmony”. The government made the decision to lift the restriction at a regular cabinet meeting on Thursday, the state-run state news agency quoted Information Minister Prithvi Subba Gurung as adding on behalf of his agency that it was issued at the initiative of prime minister Khadga Prasad Oli, who issued a directive saying all social networking sites should be treated equally. Oli became prime minister last month after the collapse of the previous coalition government.
The previous government had imposed a ban on TikTok in November last year, saying there was a need to regulate the use of the social media platform as it was disrupting social harmony, goodwill and spreading indecent material. The government also asked the social media platform to register in Nepal, open a liaison office, pay taxes and comply with the country’s laws and regulations. In the months leading up to the lifting of the ban, there were several communications between the government and TikTok officials.
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Why it’s important
TikTok, owned by China’s ByteDance, is facing scrutiny in a number of countries amid concerns that Beijing may be using the app to collect user data or promote its interests. Countries including the U.S., U.K. and New Zealand have banned the app from government phones, although TikTok has repeatedly denied that it has ever shared data with the Chinese government and would not do so if asked.
But considering the rapid growth of social media networks, ensuring fairness in social networking is bound to be a major trend in order to promote the flow of information for the country’s overall technological development. The combination of prime minister Khadga Prasad Oli’s statement that all social networking sites should be treated equally and the previous government’s ban on TikTok in November last year, which it said was necessary to regulate the use of the social media platform, could make social media an enabler of technological advancement, while ensuring cyber information security.
