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Nepal Lifts Nine-Month TikTok Ban After Platform Agrees to Conditions
Nepal lifted a ban on TikTok after the social media company agreed to a series of conditions imposed by the government. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI
On Aug. 23, the government of Nepal decided to lift a ban on TikTok that was put into place late last year. The ban was initially enforced due to concerns that the app disrupted the nation’s “social harmony.”
Prithvi Subba Gurung, Nepal’s minister for communications and information technology, announced the decision during a cabinet meeting on Thursday. This development came after TikTok agreed to meet several conditions set by the government.
“Now onwards, TikTok has to help promote Nepal’s tourism; invest in digital literacy efforts; support to uplift Nepal’s public education system; and be mindful of the language used on its platform,” Gurung said.
TikTok, owned by China-based ByteDance, expressed their satisfaction with the decision. “We’re excited to be able to continue enabling Nepali voices and creativity,” a TikTok spokesman said, as per The New York Times.
Last November, the Nepali government raised concerns about the “propaganda” on the site that they claimed disrupted family structures and social relations in the country. The ban was meant to counter what was described as a flood of “misinformation” on the platform.
Nepal’s actions were in contrast to its neighbor India, which imposed a ban on TikTok and numerous other Chinese apps in 2020. India’s decision stemmed from the ongoing poor geopolitical relations between the two nations.
Meanwhile, TikTok faces potential challenges in the United States as well. Earlier this year, President Joe Biden signed a law urging ByteDance to either divest its interests in TikTok or risk having the app removed from Apple’s App Store and Google Play.
Source: UPI, The New York Times
