Despite the government's decision on August 21 to lift the ban on TikTok under certain conditions, the decision is yet to be implemented. The Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) stated that it has not received the Cabinet's decision, and therefore, cannot take action.

The Ministry of Communications has yet to forward the Cabinet's decision to the NTA, and as a result, the authority has not instructed internet service providers to unblock TikTok. Consequently, 11 days after the decision, the general public is still unable to use TikTok without interruption.

"I heard that the government has conditionally lifted the ban on TikTok," Santosh Paudel, Director at the NTA, told New Business Age. "However, we will not lift the ban until we receive the official directive."

The Cabinet meeting on August 21 decided to remove the ban on TikTok imposed by the previous government led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal citing concerns over social harmony.

The current government has now decided to lift the ban under specific conditions, including that TikTok must play a key role in controlling pornographic videos and ensuring that content does not negatively impact the Nepali community.

Following the Cabinet's decision, Minister for Communications Prithvi Subba Gurung stated that TikTok would need to appoint an officer to regulate the language used on the platform and support Nepal's tourism, digital education, and security. TikTok is required to fulfill these conditions within three months, even though the ban was to be lifted immediately.

However, internet service providers have reported that they cannot remove the ban without instructions from the regulatory body. "Despite the government's decision, the NTA has not asked us to unblock the app," Sudhir Parajuli, president of the Internet Service Providers Association, told New Business Age. "Internet providers are waiting for an official letter from the regulatory body."

Parajuli, who is also the owner of Subisu Internet, noted that many Nepalis are still accessing TikTok using VPNs and DNS. As a result, a large amount of money was spent for the unauthorized access to the social networking site. "When TikTok was banned, the country started losing about Rs 600 million per month," he said. "However, the regulatory body has not instructed us to lift the ban, so we have maintained it."

A senior official at the Ministry of Communications expressed disappointment that the internet providers have not lifted the ban, despite the Cabinet's decision. "It takes time for the Cabinet's decision to be officially communicated," the official said. "But now that the decision is out, internet providers should not delay unblocking TikTok," said the official on condition of anonymity.

The official also mentioned that the NTA has been verbally instructed to lift the ban, and a formal letter will be sent within a day or two. "No action will be taken against internet providers if they lift the ban on their own," the official added.

Following the ban imposed by the Dahal-led government, the Asia Internet Coalition (AIC)—a representative body for social media companies such as Google, Apple, Meta, Amazon, Yahoo, LinkedIn, Rakuten, and Spotify—criticized the move as inconsistent with international practices, particularly the lack of proper legal provisions. The AIC sent letters to the government twice.

Since January 2024, TikTok has made efforts to overturn the ban by sending high-level officials to Nepal, with the Chinese government also showing interest. TikTok is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. After more than 10 TikTok representatives held political meetings and continued to protest, the current government responded positively and decided to lift the ban.