Nepal prohibits TikTok due to its impact on social harmony

Nepal has decided to ban TikTok, a social media platform owned by China, due to concerns that its content is harmful to social harmony. This decision comes shortly after Nepal introduced a new rule requiring social media companies to establish liaison offices in the country. TikTok, which boasts around a billion monthly users, has already been banned in several countries, including India and Montana in the United States. The UK Parliament has also banned TikTok from its network. Rekha Sharma, the Minister for Communications and Information Technology, stated that TikTok spreads malicious content, and the ban will be implemented immediately. However, there are some who question the government's decision, suggesting that it infringes on freedom of expression and that officials should focus on regulating the platform instead. TikTok has faced scrutiny worldwide over concerns that user data could be accessed by the Chinese government, although its parent company, ByteDance, has denied these allegations. Despite being less popular than Facebook and Instagram, TikTok has gained immense popularity among young people. In Nepal, over the past four years, more than 1,600 cybercrime cases related to TikTok have been reported. According to a report by BBC Media Action, TikTok is the third most used social media platform in Nepal, with a specifically high usage among users aged 16 to 24. Pakistan has temporarily banned TikTok on multiple occasions since October 2020, and Indonesia recently shut down its TikTok online shopping service.