Nepal to ban China’s TikTok for ‘disturbing social harmony’, in move critics say will stifle free speech

Nepal says it will ban TikTok, citing the app’s negative effects on the country’s social harmony.

The popular video-sharing platform, which has around 1 billion monthly users, has faced restrictions in many countries for allegedly breaking data rules and for its potential harmful impact on youth.

“The decision to ban was made today, and relevant authorities are currently addressing the technical issues,” Minister for Communications and Information Technology Rekha Sharma said on Monday.

Sharma said the decision was made because TikTok was consistently used to share content that “disturbs social harmony and disrupts family structures and social relations”.

She did not specify what had triggered the ban.

More than 1,600 TikTok-related cybercrime cases have been registered over the last four years in Nepal, according to local media reports.

Nepal Telecom Authority Chair Purushottam Khanal said internet service providers had been asked to close the app.

“Some have already closed while others are doing it later today,” Khanal said.

Hours after the decision was made public, videos on the ban had thousands of views on TikTok.

TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the matter. It has previously said such bans are “misguided” and that they are based on “misconceptions”.

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Gagan Thapa, leader of the Nepali Congress party which is part of the ruling coalition, said the government’s intention seemed to “stifle freedom of expression”.

“Regulation is necessary to discourage those who abuse social media, but shutting down social media in the name of regulation is completely wrong,” he said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“There are many unwanted materials in other social media also. What must be done is to regulate and not restrict them,” said Pradeep Gyawali, former foreign minister and a senior leader of the opposition Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist).

The decision comes days after Nepal introduced a directive requiring social media platforms operating in the country to set up offices.

TikTok is the sixth most-used social platform in the world, according to the We Are Social marketing agency.

Multiple countries have sought to tighten controls on social media due to their potential impact on children.

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US lawmakers grill TikTok CEO on app’s alleged ties to Chinese Communist Party

US lawmakers grill TikTok CEO on app’s alleged ties to Chinese Communist Party

TikTok’s owner ByteDance is Chinese, but the company rejects critics who accuse it of being under Beijing’s direct control.

Although it lags behind the likes of Meta’s long-dominant trio of Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, its growth among young people far outstrips its competitors.

Nepal’s neighbour India banned TikTok along with dozens of other apps by Chinese developers in June 2020, saying that they could compromise national security and integrity.

Another South Asian country, Pakistan, has banned the app at least four times over what the country’s government terms its “immoral and indecent” content.