Nepal lifts its ban on TikTok imposed for disrupting social harmony

The icon for the video sharing TikTok app is seen on a smartphone, Feb. 28, 2023, in Marple Township, Pa. (Matt Slocum / AP Photo, File)

KATHMANDU, Nepal — Nepal’s government decided Thursday to lift the ban it imposed on the video-sharing app TikTok last November for disrupting “social harmony."

The decision to lift restrictions was made by the government during a regular cabinet meeting Thursday, the state-run National News Agency quoted Information Minister Prithvi Subba Gurung as saying.

The agency also said that it was under the initiative of the Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli, who issued a directive saying that all social networking sites should be treated equally.

Oli became the prime minister last month after the collapse of the previous coalition government.

The previous government had imposed the ban on TikTok in November last year, saying it was necessary to regulate the use of the social media platform because it was disrupting social harmony, goodwill and diffusing indecent materials.

The government has also asked social media platforms companies to register in Nepal, open a liaison office, pay taxes and abide by the country’s laws and regulations.

There were several exchange of communication between the government and TikTok officials in the months leading to the lifting of the ban.

TikTok, owned by China’s ByteDance, has faced scrutiny in a number of countries because of concerns that Beijing could use the app to harvest user data or advance its interests. Countries including the United States, Britain and New Zealand have banned the app on government phones despite TikTok repeatedly denying that it has ever shared data with the Chinese government and would not do so if asked.

In 2018, Nepal banned all pornographic sites.