Kathmandu, 04 Sep: Minister for Communications and Information Technology Prithvi Subba Gurung has said that social media platforms that have not been listed till date will be deactivated.
Speaking to journalists at the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology today, Minister Gurung said that he has already instructed the Nepal Telecommunication Authority to deactivate unlisted social media networks.
The Supreme Court, in a contempt of court case, had ordered the Government of Nepal on April 12, 2080, to register domestic and foreign-origin online and social media platforms with the relevant bodies before operating.
In compliance with the order, the Council of Ministers meeting on Bhadra 23 had invited individuals, companies or organizations interested in operating social media in Nepal to register.
In accordance with the Directive 2080 issued by the Government of Nepal to regulate the use of social media, an application was asked to be submitted to the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology within 7 days, attaching the documents specified in the format as per Schedule 1 of the same directive, for the listing of their platform.
When the ministry applied, a public notice was published asking interested individuals, companies, or organizations to designate a contact point within Nepal, a resident grievance hearing officer, and a self-regulation compliance monitoring officer.
Minister Gurung said, “The Nepal Telecommunications Authority has been instructed to deactivate social media networks that are not listed within the specified time and reactivate them from the moment they are listed.”
Minister Gurung said that about 25 social media platforms should be registered and there would be no cost for the registration. He said that in the court’s ruling in the Sidha Kura.com case, all social media platforms should be registered with the Ministry of Communications and that if they are not registered and operated, they should not be operated illegally.
” We had asked them to register within seven days, that date was until today, we will deactivate the social media from today itself,” Minister Gurung said. “We are not trying to list whether they have paid taxes in the country, but rather to report the criminalization caused by social media and the disruption it has caused in the socio-cultural sector. There is no question of paying money.”Â
