The Nepalese government announced that it will ban TikTok on the grounds that the app has a negative impact on social balance.
"Today we have decided to ban TikTok. The relevant agencies are working on the technical issues," Nepal's Minister of Communications and Information Technology Rekha Sharma said in a statement on November 13.
The Nepali minister said the decision was taken because TikTok was frequently used to share content that “disturbed the social balance and disrupted family and social relationships.
The TikTok logo is displayed on a phone screen taken in August 2022. Photo: Reuters
Gagan Thapa, leader of the ruling coalition's Nepali Congress party, said the government's plan appeared aimed at "suppressing freedom of expression".
"There needs to be regulations to stop people from abusing social media, but banning social media is completely wrong," Mr. Thapa posted on X.
The Nepal government's decision comes days after it asked social media platforms operating in the country to set up offices.
TikTok has not responded to the ban.
TikTok is the sixth most used social network in the world , according to marketing services company We Are Social. TikTok still lags behind the established social network trio of Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, but it is growing at an exceptional rate with young people.
In addition to content issues, TikTok has also been subject to increased scrutiny in many countries over security concerns. TikTok’s owner, the Chinese company ByteDance, has repeatedly denied allegations that it takes direct direction from Beijing.
Ngoc Anh (According to AFP )
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