Nepal Lifts TikTok Ban After Nine-Month Hiatus

Nepal has lifted its nine-month ban on TikTok following an agreement with the company to address cyber crime and content regulation concerns. The decision was made during a cabinet meeting. TikTok, owned by ByteDance, had previously been banned due to misuse and its impact on social harmony in the country.

Nepal lifted a ban on Chinese-owned TikTok on Thursday, more than nine months after outlawing the popular video sharing app for disturbing 'social harmony and goodwill.' The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting after the company agreed to cooperate with Nepal's law enforcers to address TikTok-related crime and regulate its content, a government source said on condition of anonymity. TikTok, whose holding company is Beijing-based ByteDance, said it was pleased with the decision.

Nepal's previous government banned the app in November, citing concerns around its misuse. More than 1,600 TikTok-related cyber crime cases were registered over four years in the Himalayan nation before that. Sporadic street protests erupted, 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 sought from TikTok a focal unit to assist the Cyber Bureau of Nepal Police round the clock to help nab criminals and block inappropriate content that has even led to suicides. 'Prompt, real-time identification of users can be an effective tool to nab offenders and discourage misuse of the technology,' Dipak Raj Awasti, the bureau's spokesman, told Reuters on Thursday. Several other countries have either partially or completely banned TikTok, with many citing national security and privacy concerns.

(With inputs from agencies.)