Social media is being criticized by the government regarding the social media bill that the government has recently registered in the parliament. In the House of Representatives meeting on Thursday, the leaders of the opposition parties demanded that the bill be amended saying that it is against the spirit of freedom of expression and democracy.

Social media content creators and influencers have also been protesting against the bill by running 'Boln De Sarkar' campaign for a few days now. They comment that the government is trying to hack freedom of expression through the bill. 

In the House of Representatives meeting, the parliamentarians held the view that the government should listen to the voices of content creators and youth and their objections should be considered immediately.  The 'Bill to regulate the operation, use and regulation of social media' was registered by Minister of Communications and Information Technology Prithvisubba Gurung in the National Assembly of Parliament on January 15. Since then, there has been heavy criticism regarding the provisions proposed in the bill, such as not being able to create fake IDs, punishing trolls, imposing fines, and taking action if platforms do not remove content. 

Chairman of the main opposition party Maoist Center Pushpa Kamal Dahal accused the government of trying to control the freedom of expression and press legally by making the social media bill. "This bill is objectionable," he said, "in the name of social media regulation, it is curtailing citizens' right to freedom of expression provided by the constitution, and trying to control the freedom of the press." Former Prime Minister Dahal is of the opinion that the bill is punishing citizens step by step with jail and fines.

Referring to the incident in which the government detained a citizen wearing a t-shirt with the picture of Balen Shah, mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City during Indra Jatra, and detained Ashika Tamang, Dahal expressed the intention of the government to be more strict if the bill is passed.   What will the rotating government do if this bill is passed tomorrow, a serious question has arisen.' 

Asserting that he insisted on self-regulation of social media when he was the prime minister, Dahal also questioned the opinion of the Congress which stood against the social media bill in the past. Maoist center has commented that although the draft of the bill was prepared during the time of the previous Maoist-led government, penalties, punishments and fines have been added to it. The Dahal-led government approved the 'Guidelines for Regulating the Use of Social Media, 2080' in Katik last year. The bill was made according to the guidelines. Sumana Shrestha, MP of Rashtriya Swatantra Party, said that the government should listen to the voices of youth and content creators who are opposing the

bill. She urged the government to immediately consider the protests that started on social media and the objections of content creators. Content creators are raising their voices saying that there has been a dictatorship and that a bill has been introduced that violates freedom of speech. The government should listen to their voices. It has been confirmed that it will not be done.'

Shrestha questioned whether the government listens to them only when the youth surround the maitighar mandla or vandalize public property or at other times as well. She also urged the government to understand the basic aspects of digital space, personal branding and content creation by calling the content creators of social media. Shrestha requests that the bill should be looked at above party interests and that all parliamentarians should raise the voice of the youth in parliament. 

In a different context, CPN-UML MP Raghuji Pant questioned which section of the amended law violates freedom of expression through an ordinance brought by the government. "Which provisions of the Ordinance will harm the democratic rights of the Nepalese people or take away freedom of speech?" Parliament is not the place to express his frustration.' 

Objection of content creators

Social media content creators have collectively opposed the social media bill and called for its correction. Sudeep Bhai Subedi of In-Depth Story, Dipesh Tripathi of The Nepali Comment, Saroj Karki of Project Kura, Rashtra Vimochan Timalsina of Random Nepali, Vinayak Kuikel of Why So Offended and Amrit Thapa of Misguided Nepal, who have been making explainer videos on public affairs and current affairs, announced the hashtag campaign 'Boln De Sarkar', saying that they have the right to ask questions and seek accountability. have done Many content creators have expressed solidarity with this.

Some of the provisions of the bill directly interfere with freedom of expression, said Sudeep of In-Depth Story. He says that the bill seems to be brought with the aim of controlling users and content creators rather than regulating social networks. "Freedom of expression is a basic right in a democratic country, but the bill brought by the government is trying to stifle it," he said, "It seems that the bill has been prepared without sufficient knowledge about the technical aspects of the Internet and digital platforms." "They are trying to control even common activities like likes, comments, and hashtags, it seems as if the government is trying to decide who to follow and who not to follow," he said.

Vinayak of Why So Offended has said in a YouTube video that they are trying to attack their freedom of speech by using social media. "We reject this autocratic initiative of the government through this social network," he said. Dipesh of The Nepali Comment claims that he is ready to go to jail if he wants to have the right to express his opinion, to ask questions, to protest and to seek accountability. 

Saroj of Project Kura has requested social media users to read the bill. Rashtra Vimochan of Random Nepali advised to give suggestions on the bill through the Parliament website or through their MPs. It is their collective voice that needs to speak for themselves and for democracy.