Nepal To Ban TikTok As It ‘Disturbs Social Harmony’

Nepal says it will ban TikTok, adding that social harmony and goodwill are being disturbed by “misuse” of the popular video-sharing app and that there is rising demand to control it.

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

Sharma said the decision was made because TikTok was consistently used to share content that “disturbs social harmony and disrupts family structures and social relations”.

“Colleagues are working on closing it technically,” she said, without specifying what triggered the ban.

TikTok has already been either partially or completely banned by other countries, with many citing security concerns.

More than 1,600 TikTok-related cybercrime cases have been registered over the last four years in Nepal, according to local media reports.

Nepal Telecom Authority Chief Purushottam Khanal said that internet service providers have been asked to close the app. “Some have already closed while others are doing it later today,” said.

TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the matter.

It has previously said such bans are “misguided” and that they are based on “misconceptions”.

ALJAZEERA