The government is making preparations to lift the ban on the social media platform TikTok, almost 10 months after being imposed by the then Prachanda-led government.
Prime Minister KP Oli himself is taking the initiative to lift the ban, the sources have said.
Prime Minister Oli has directed the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology to take a decision to this effect at the earliest.
Following Oli’s direction, Minister for Communications and Information Technology Prithvi Subba Gurung has started holding discussions with the representatives of TikTok in Nepal.
“The discussions are underway to remove the TikTok ban,” a Baluwatar source told Nepalkhabar, “The Ministry of Communication and Information Technology has already been directed to this effect.”
Once the Ministry takes a decision and submits a proposal in the Council of Ministers, the process of removing the ban on the social media platform TikTok will gain momentum.
“Since it was banned by the cabinet, I think, it should take a decision on removal of the ban, too, the source said, “The ministry should submit the proposal in the cabinet.”
An official at the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology confirmed that discussions are underway to remove the TikTok ban.
According to officials, the Oli government will remove the TikTok ban in the next few days. Some attribute geopolitics to the decisions behind TikTok ban and its removal.
TikTok was banned in Nepal 10 months ago
TikTok was getting more popular in Nepal due to its entertaining and engaging contents. It had been the major source of entertainment.
The social network, freely accessible to all, exploded in popularity, but some videos began to negatively impact society.
The then Prachanda government on November 13, 2023, banned TokTok stating that its objectionable short videos and live streaming eroded social harmony.
On December 6, 2023, the TikTok’s representatives wrote a letter to the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology expressing intent to register the social media platform in Nepal after the then government put a ban on it.
TikTok started sending its high-level officials to Nepal for the resumption of the social media platform since mid-January, 2024.
A total of 14 writ petitions were registered in the Supreme Court after the Nepal government.
Hearing on all the writs simultaneously, a single bench of Justice Binod Sharma on November 21, 2023, refused to issue a stay order against the government’s decision arguing that it would not cause an immediate irreparable damage.
Even though another writ was filed at the apex court seeking government’s reason behind putting a ban on the social media platform, the hearing has been postponed time and again. The next hearing has been slated for September 26, 2024.
TikTok banned immediately after Prachanda’s China visit
Then Prime Minister Prachanda flew to the United States of America on September 22, 2023 and then to China. He returned home on September 30. The government banned TikTok immediately after Prachanda’s return.
China expressed its discontent at the government’s decision to ban TikTok dubbing it as ‘a move to join the westerners’ bandwagon to discourage the thriving technology of China.’
Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Chen Song met with Prachanda and said, “We worked hard to make your China visit a success but you awarded our efforts with an anti-China decision by putting a ban on TikTok as soon as you returned home from China.”
In response, Prachanda said, “I had never ever thought that China would take the TikTok ban so seriously.”
