The Government of Nepal bans the use of TikTok for endangering "social harmony"

The Government of Nepal has joined the list of Administrations that veto the TikTok app. The Nepalese Executive announced the decision to block the popular social network in its country to prevent uses that could encourage disruptions to public order.

According to statements collected by AP from the Nepalese Foreign Minister, Narayan Prakash Saud, the control over the download and use of the application owned by the Chinese company ByteDance is due to the fact that the latter "disturbs social harmony."

Saud also pointed out that foreign social media companies that want to operate in the country must open offices in their territory and pay the respective taxes. With this measure, the Government of Nepal intends to have greater control over social networks and the companies in charge of their infrastructure. The intention is for technology companies to have a link with the laws and regulations of Nepal.

Malicious content

In other statements to the BBC, Nepal's Minister of Communication and Information Technology, Rekha Sharma, accused TikTok of being a platform for the spread of "malicious content." "The ban will come into effect immediately and telecom authorities have been directed to implement the decision," Sharma said.

The social network TikTok is growing in popularity among the youngest segments of the world's population. In the United States, its parent company has been in conflict with the federal administration since Donald Trump's mandate to see if it will continue to operate in national territory.

In Nepal, according to local media, at least 1,600 cybercrimes linked to TikTok have been recorded in the last four years.