New Delhi: Nepal banned Chinese video-sharing social media app TikTok on Monday, following concerns about rising hate speech and security threats, according to local media reports.
This comes roughly a week after the government ordered social media platforms such as Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), TikTok and YouTube, among others, to open liaison offices in the country and register with the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology.
While the Nepal government announced the ban during a Cabinet meeting Monday, citing TikTok’s negative effects on social harmony, it is not clear when the embargo will come into effect — possibly after the completion of technical preparations.
The government said that despite freedom of expression being a basic right, large sections of the Nepali society had criticised the video-sharing platform for allegedly encouraging hate speech. According to government officials, 1,647 cyber crime cases have been reported on TikTok.
The Kathmandu Post reported that discussions on the matter took place last week between the Cyber Bureau of the Nepal Police, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and representatives of TikTok.
Nepal also introduced new regulations under “Directives on the Operation of Social Networking 2023” last week, which mandated companies to appoint a designated officer in Nepal and included a 19-point not-to-do list for users on social media platforms.
These directives were introduced following complaints from users that their concerns were not being addressed, nor was objectionable content being removed.
In 2020, India also barred TikTok as part of a wider ban on various Chinese apps, over privacy and security concerns. The move came after the Indian Army and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) forces clashed along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh in April-May 2020. The two sides have so far held 20 rounds of Corps Commander-level talks to discuss disengagement at remaining friction points in the region.
Nepal-China ties: Some bumps
Despite the ban, Kathmandu and Beijing continue to have close ties while working through minor bumps. In September this year, Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, also known as Prachanda, made his maiden visit to Beijing and held wide-ranging talks with Chinese Premier Li Qiang on various bilateral issues – from trade to people relations.
This visit came roughly a few weeks after Kathmandu expressed its objections over China’s 2023 standard map not including regions of Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura, which are within Nepal.
These regions have been a point of contention between Nepal and India, after the former included them in its map in 2020. New Delhi had called Kathmandu’s actions “unjustified cartographic assertion”.
Li and Prachanda signed 12 agreements during his visit, including seven MoUs, to enhance bilateral cooperation in sectors including trade, road connectivity, and information technology. Prachanda also met with President Xi Jinping, and the two “agreed to collaborate closely and advance Nepal-China relations to strengthen ever-lasting friendship”.
While the visit focussed on collaboration on infrastructure and connectivity projects between Nepal and China, the joint statement of the visit also highlighted certain security issues. The two sides agreed on the joint inspection of the Nepal-China boundary and cooperation between the law enforcement agencies of both countries, while Nepal seemingly rejected joining China’s Global Security Initiative (GSI).
In 2019, with President Xi’s visit to Kathmandu, the two countries had elevated their relationship to a “strategic partnership of cooperation”. China is one of Nepal’s largest sources of foreign direct investment and its second-largest trading partner after India. Last year, Nepal’s imports from China were $1.84 billion, while exports totalled $5.39 million.
However, Nepal’s participation in China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has been a point of dispute between the two countries, as no project has fructified even after six years. Instead, Beijing attempted to label a project, the Pokhara International Airport, which began construction in 2016, as part of the initiative in August this year.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)
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