The Asia Internet Coalition (NIC) has requested the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology to ban the registration of social media platforms in Nepal until the social media bill is finalized.
On Tuesday, writing to the Minister of Communication and Information Technology, Rekha Sharma, the Asia Internet Coalition said that until the social media bill is finalized, the registration of social media will be banned.
The coalition said the proposed current law will pose a challenge. If these challenges are not addressed, the social media guidelines and the social media bill will be ineffective and will also affect Nepal's digital economy, the coalition has warned.
'We accept the efforts of the Nepalese government to regulate social media platforms. But we are interested in some of the provisions mentioned in the guidelines,' the letter says, 'the assurances received in the talks with the representatives of the ministry and the concerns raised by the AIC have not been addressed.'
The Coalition believes that the proposed registration process of social networks in Nepal will be hampered by the requirement to submit confidential documents such as user data, platform activities, security measures and tax statements.
The letter states that there is uncertainty as to how businesses will comply with the rules of registration and renewal in the guidelines or the bill. This could prevent competition, innovation and potential investment and hinder the development of the digital ecosystem, the coalition said.
According to AIC, provisions such as the ambiguity regarding illegal content, the need to remove content within a certain period, raise questions about human rights. They believe that the mandatory local presence of social media in Nepal will increase the operating costs of small companies, hinder entry and reduce innovation.
According to NIC, Nepali citizens will not be able to access global internet services due to such arrangements. Asia Internet Coalition (NIC) includes LINE, Pinterest, Amazon, Apple, Grab, Google, Booking.com, Yahoo, Meta, Spotify, Viber, X, Snap, LinkedIn, Shopify and FedEx.