Nepal has banned TikTok because it says the app ‘disrupts social harmony’

Nepal has decided to ban the popular social media platform TikTok.

Aljazeera reported that the South Asian country is prohibiting TikTok over its dissemination of hate content.

Nepal’s Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Rekha Sharma, said the decision to ban TikTok was taken at a cabinet meeting yesterday (November 13).

“Our social harmony, family structure and family relations are being disturbed by social media, by TikTok,” the minister said.

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“The decision to ban TikTok will be effective immediately,” she added.

South China Morning Post reported that Foreign Minister Narayan Prakash Saud said it was 'necessary' to ban TikTok as it was 'disrupting social harmony, goodwill and flow of indecent materials'.

More than 1,600 TikTok-related cybercrime cases have been registered over the past four years in Nepal, according to the outlet.

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While the Nepalese government initially considered removing individuals from the platform to help reduce harmful content, Narayan Kaji Shrestha, the country’s home minister, said it would be difficult for authorities to monitor this, as per The New York Times.

As a result, the government decided to ban the entire platform.

TikTok has yet to respond publicly to the news.

Taranath Dahal, the founder of Freedom Forum, has expressed concerns over the move, as he fears the government is moving toward 'building a controlled society.'

An increasing number of countries have taken action against the app in recent years.

In June 2020, India banned TikTok and several other Chinese apps, citing data privacy and national security concerns.

While earlier this year, the Somali government announced a ban on the app due to false news dissemination and propaganda.

US Congress has also rolled out a bill that would see a similar ban on the popular video-sharing app.

The bill, led by Senator Mark Warner, would grant the government power to ban foreign technologies and companies threatening national security.