TikTok and beyond

The regulation of the social media site was due. But it should not be a pretext to suppress free speech.

The Ministry of Home Affairs on Sunday published a rather vague public notice regarding social media usage. The notice states that the government has recently held talks with the operators of a social media networking site named TikTok. During the talk, the notice says, government officials, including representatives from the Nepal Police's Cyber Bureau, expressed concerns to TikTok top executives about the site’s misuse and the ways to minimise the same. The notice says the discussion has opened the way for removing content that causes social unrest, dishonours dignitaries and promotes vulgarity, among other issues. It has also apparently made it easier for law enforcement officials to identify and punish miscreants. Further, the notice asks citizens to act responsibly on social media, exhorting them to publish only the kind of content that has educational value and does not disturb the social fabric.