TikTok has emerged as one of the most popular social networks in the world, with nearly more than a billion active users worldwide. However, this has not spared it from receiving all kinds of criticisms, whether it be for the data collection it performs or the addiction it can generate.
These concerns have been more than enough for the government of Nepal to decide to ban the download of TikTok in the country. One of the main reasons the government cited in favor of this ban is that it was ‘disrupting the social harmony‘ of the country.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nepal, Narayan Prakash Saud, told Quartz that ‘it was necessary to regulate the use of the platform, as it was disturbing social harmony, goodwill, and the flow of indecent material.
The government of Nepal has also demanded that social media platforms ‘be accountable‘ in the country. To do so, they must register, open liaison offices, pay taxes, and comply with Nepal’s laws without exceptions
However, this is not the first time TikTok has faced bans and restrictions. The United States itself previously completely banned the ByteDance platform due to concerns about how Beijing might use the data the app collects from its users. Other countries such as Britain and New Zealand also prohibited the installation of TikTok on the mobile phones of public workers. Meanwhile, TikTok has repeatedly denied sharing data with the Chinese government and asserted that it would not do so in the future.
