Ministry of Communication Recommends Lifting TikTok Ban; Cabinet Likely to Decide Today

Government sources have revealed that the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology has recommended lifting the ban on TikTok, a social networking site that allows users to create and share short videos. The recommendation has been forwarded to the Council of Ministers.

The previous government, led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal, imposed a ban on TikTok on November 13, 2023. After ongoing discussions, the current government is now poised to lift the ban.

Sources close to the ministry revealed that the Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Prithvi Subba Gurung, took the decision on Wednesday to lift the ban. The ministerial decision is ready to be presented at the Cabinet meeting scheduled for today (Thursday).

“The Minister for Communications has signed the decision to remove the TikTok ban and has sent it to the Cabinet for approval,” a source said. Following the Cabinet's decision, the Ministry will instruct the Nepal Telecommunications Authority to lift the ban on TikTok.

The ban was initially enacted after the then Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal's visit to China. The Council of Ministers decided to ban TikTok in Nepal, citing concerns that the platform was disrupting social harmony. The Nepal Telecommunications Authority quickly instructed internet and mobile service providers to enforce the ban. Dahal had stated that CPN (UML) Chairman KP Sharma Oli and Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba also supported the decision.

Fourteen separate petitions were filed in the Supreme Court challenging the government's decision, arguing that it infringed on freedom of expression. The court has scheduled a hearing for September 26. The Asia Internet Coalition (AIC), a representative organization of major social media companies like Google, Apple, Meta, Amazon, Yahoo, LinkedIn, Rakuten, and Spotify, sent a letter criticizing the ban, stating that the Nepal government's actions were against international practices.

According to Ministry of Communication sources, Ferdous Mottakin, head of TikTok South Asia, who oversees TikTok's public policy and government relations, recently emailed the government requesting the ban be lifted. Previously, he had also written to the prime minister, the minister for communications, and the Nepal Telecommunications Authority. There has been significant pressure on the government to lift the ban, and under the leadership of KP Sharma Oli, the government has shown a positive inclination to do so.