Kathmandu: The new PM of Nepal, K P Sharma Oli, overturned a ban on TikTok that his predecessor imposed in Nov, an apparent sign that the veteran politician intended to strengthen the country’s relations with China, its northern neighbour.
The popular social media app, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance, was banned for its refusal to curb what the previous Nepalese govt had described as hate speech that disturbed “social harmony.” At the time, Nepali officials said that they had resorted to the ban after TikTok declined to address concerns about troubling content. A spokesperson for TikTok expressed satisfaction with the move, saying, “We’re excited to be able to continue enabling Nepali voices and creativity.”
The decision to reinstate TikTok signalled Oli’s belief that, amid the geopolitical bickering between China and India, Nepal’s neighbour to the south that also banned the app, the Himalayan country was better off aligning with China.
TikTok and many other Chinese apps have been banned in India since 2020, amid historically fraught relations between the two countries and more recent efforts to dominate the South Asian region.
Prithvi Subba Gurung, a Nepalese govt spokesperson, said TikTok would now have to abide by certain directives, such as naming a point of contact in the country. “We have set a few conditions such as TikTok to be used for promoting Nepali tourism, supporting us for digital safety, digital literacy and digital education and curb hate content,” he said.
Tthe Chinese ambassador to Nepal, Chen Song, wrote on social media platform X, “Today is a good day,” which many Nepalese took to mean that the talks to reinstate TikTok had been finalised.
