Minister for Communication and Information Technology, Prithvi Subba Gurung, has stated that social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram will be banned if they fail to register in Nepal. During a program, Minister Gurung warned that any social media not registered in Nepal will not be allowed to operate.
He said, “Currently, only TikTok is registered with a point of contact here. We are inviting Meta, and we are still waiting to see if they will come. If they don’t, they won’t be allowed to operate in Nepal.”
Minister Gurung explained that the new social media bill was introduced to take action against platforms that spread content undermining social harmony and religious tolerance. He emphasized that the bill aims to regulate social media, which has been increasingly chaotic, and address the public’s demand for regulation.
“Our social harmony is being disrupted, and those who disrupt our religious tolerance have been included in the bill,” he stated. “We want to stop it; we want to regulate it. That’s why we need this bill.”
He mentioned that writing or doing anything arbitrarily is not democracy, and that is why the bill for regulating social media operations and usage has been introduced in Parliament. Although there has been some opposition, he mentioned that such things are natural in a democracy.
He added, “The demand of many is that social media should be regulated. Arbitrary writing and actions are not democracy. Therefore, we have presented the bill to regulate social media. There has been some opposition, but in a democracy, opposition is inevitable.”
Minister Gurung clarified that actions disrupting social harmony, spreading hatred, and undermining religious tolerance are considered treasonous, and the bill includes provisions for punishment for those engaging in such activities on social media. He further stated that it is unacceptable for anyone to claim that freedom of speech includes the right to make arbitrary statements about the country.
He assured that the government remains aware of the need to guarantee the people’s right to be informed, stating, “If someone says that being able to write anything or make arbitrary statements about the country is democracy, we disagree with that. That’s not press freedom.”
He emphasized that the government is serious about ensuring people’s freedom of expression and guaranteeing the right to free speech. He stated that democracy can only be strengthened by ending chaos and regulating it.
“Only by ending chaos and regulating it can we strengthen democracy,” he said. “By strengthening democratic systems, the journey to prosperity for the Nepali people will become easier, which is why we have introduced this bill.”
He also pointed out that freedom alone does not make democracy stronger and that chaos does not strengthen democracy. “We believe that only by defeating anarchism, unregulated behavior, and divisionism can our democracy become stronger. That’s why we have introduced this bill with that understanding,” he explained.
Minister Gurung further mentioned that cybercrime is on the rise in the country, and the government is preparing a draft bill to control it. He assured that the draft bill on IT, information technology, and cybersecurity would be presented in the ongoing session of Parliament.
He said, “Cybercrime is increasing rapidly. Just last month, millions of rupees were stolen through cybercrimes. People don’t even get caught. We need a law to control cybercrime. We have already drafted the bill on IT, information technology, and cybersecurity, and it will be presented in this Parliament session.”
He also mentioned that the government will create a conducive environment for those social media platforms that come forward to register.
