10 writ petitions filed at SC challenging decision to ban TikTok

KATHMANDU: As many as 10 writ petitions have been filed at the Supreme Court, challenging the government’s decision to ban the video-sharing site TikTok.

According to Govinda Ghimire, the joint spokesperson for the Supreme Court, the apex court will conduct a hearing on the petitions on Monday.

The cabinet meeting held on November 13 decided to ban TikTok, stating that the platform was being used to disturb social harmony and that complaints related to offenses against public tranquility through the platform were rising. The government also accused TikTok of not cooperating with it to minimize such activities and take action against those involved.

After the government banned TikTok, the platform wrote a letter to the Nepal Telecommunication Authority (NTA), stating that it was surprised by the government ban. “We provided the Nepal government access to the ‘Trust and Safety Enforcement Tool,’ a portal for direct content removal requests as per Nepal’s laws. Furthermore, we registered as a digital service taxpayer,” TikTok said in its letter.