Nepal lifts ban on TikTok after app tackles cybercrime issues By Reuters

KATHMANDU (Reuters) – Nepal lifted its ban on Chinese-owned TikTok on Thursday, more than nine months after outlawing the popular video-sharing app for disrupting “social harmony and goodwill”.

The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting after the company agreed to cooperate with law enforcement in Nepal to tackle TikTok-related crimes and regulate its content, a government source said on condition of anonymity.

ByteDance, TikTok’s Beijing-based holding company, said it was pleased with the decision.

Nepal’s previous government banned the app in November, citing concerns about its misuse. More than 1,600 cases of TikTok-related cybercrime were registered over four years in the Himalayan nation before this.

Sporadic street protests broke out, with users saying the ban cut off a source of income and shut down a forum for free speech. TikTok had 2.2 million users in Nepal at the time, according to the Internet Service Providers Association of Nepal.

Nepal has sought from TikTok a focal unit to assist the Nepal Police Cyber ​​Bureau around the clock to help catch criminals and block inappropriate content that has even led to suicides.

“Prompt, real-time identification of users can be an effective tool to catch criminals and deter misuse of technology,” Dipak Raj Awasti, the bureau’s spokesman, told Reuters.

Several other countries have either partially or completely banned TikTok, many citing national security and privacy concerns.