Kathmandu, 01 Sep: The one-week deadline given by the government to list social media platforms is ending on Wednesday. In accordance with the decision of the Council of Ministers, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology had issued a notice last Thursday (August 28) urging social media platforms used in Nepal to be listed within a week. The ministry’s notice states that social media platforms that are not registered during that period will be gradually closed.
Earlier, the Cabinet meeting held on August 25 had decided to issue instructions to the Nepal Telecommunication Authority through the Ministry to gradually deactivate social media platforms that are not listed or not accessible within the specified period. It appears that the Ministry of Communications has published a notification in line with the decision made by the Cabinet.
The notice issued by the ministry states, ‘The Nepal Telecommunications Authority has been instructed to gradually deactivate social media platforms within Nepal that do not list within the specified time limit or are not contacted for the purpose of listing as per this notice, and if they are listed, they will be reactivated from the same moment.’
Will social media be shut down?
If we are to believe the official statements of the government, social media will be gradually shut down after Wednesday. This may not mean that it will be Wednesday, but all the networks that have not been registered in a week or two will be shut down. The government has also been legally strengthened by issuing the latest notification, as the government has the backup of the court in this matter.
The full text of the Supreme Court’s order to list and regulate social media on 29 September, 2024, was made public just a few days ago. This means that if the government shuts down social media and someone goes to court, the order to reopen the network may not be returned to normal.
But there is a practical difficulty in shutting down networks that have not been listed as the government has said. Moreover, this seems to be increasing recently. In fact, the government’s realization of this difficulty is also clearly visible in the decisions made by the Council of Ministers and the notice issued by the Ministry of Communications.
The decision of the Council of Ministers does not clearly mention that those who are not listed during this period will be closed. Instead, it is said that ‘those who do not even come into contact will be gradually closed’. It is not clear how long the word ‘gradually’ means. It also seems that a decision has been made to ‘instruct them to be reactivated from the moment they are listed’. This means that the government is aware that the issue of closing social media is not easy.
What are the government’s questions?
Minister of Communications Prithvi Subba Gurung had raised the question of whether social media should pay taxes after being registered in Nepal. But the issue he raised is not relevant here. Currently, 19 social media are registered for tax purposes with the Big Taxpayer Office. They are paying a huge amount of tax. In this situation, it would be fair to say that the tax has been collected less. But it is not fair to say that they do not pay tax.
Telecommunications expert Ananda Raj Khanal says that three main issues are important in this. First, taxes and revenue. Second, cyber security and third, freedom of expression. Among these, he says that there may be no agreement between the government and social media operators on the issue of freedom of expression.
