TikTok users protest against government ban

TikTok users today protested against the government decision to ban the app.

Expressing their displeasure against the government’s decision of banning the popular social media application, the TikTok users gathered at Maitighar Mandala and protested against the government's decision.

They argued that the government has curtailed their right to freedom of expression by banning the video-sharing site TikTok. They also advised the government not to be afraid of TikTok users and demanded immediately lifting the ban.

Claiming that TikTok has had a negative impact on social harmony, the government -- on November 13 -- banned the TikTok, which is being used as a social networking site in Nepal. The government also accused TikTok of not cooperating with it to minimise such activities and take action against those involved.

After the government banned TikTok, the platform wrote a letter to the Nepal Telecommunication Authority (NTA), stating that it was surprised by the government ban. “We provided the Nepal government access to the ‘Trust and Safety Enforcement Tool,’ a portal for direct content removal requests as per Nepal’s laws. Furthermore, we registered as a digital service taxpayer,” TikTok said in its letter.

The Nepal Telecommunication Authority (NTA), coming into immediate action -- which is very unlikely in Nepal -- ordered all the Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to ban the application. The telecommunication sector regulator ahs also formed a technical committee led by director Bijay Kumar Rai for the effective implementation of the government's decision to ban TikTok in the country.

However, on Friday, as many as 10 writ petitions have been filed at the Supreme Court challenging the government’s decision to ban the TikTok.

According to the Supreme Court, the apex court will conduct an initial hearing on the petitions on Monday.