The Minister of Communication and Information Technology Prithvisubba Gurung has claimed that the bill presented by the government to the parliament to organize and regulate the social media will be passed. In a program organized by Nepal Telecommunication Authority on the occasion of Safe Internet Day on Tuesday, he said that the Social Media Bill will be passed by the Parliament.
According to Minister Gurung, the kind of anarchy, violence and disorder that is increasing in the country, social media is promoting it more. He said that a legal system is needed to control it.
"There is no regulation of social media platforms yet, they have not been systematically operated, they are not registered anywhere," he said, "to organize this, we have submitted a bill to the parliament to regulate the operation, use and regulation of social media, There is an uproar in the country (about this).'
Although Minister Gurung said that the social media platforms are not registered anywhere, they are registered with the Internal Revenue Department and paying regular taxes. Big social media and information technology companies like Microsoft, Google, Meta, Tik Tok, Adobe, Netflix, Amazon, and Apple provide electronic services in Nepal by providing VAT and electronic service tax for a transaction of 3.5 billion rupees in one year. According to the Big Taxpayer Office. Commenting on those criticizing the
bill, Communication Minister Gurung asked them not to engage in false propaganda. "Unwanted elements are being used to create public opinion against the bill," he said.
He argued that the bill is necessary to prevent the abuse of social media and to protect Nepal's religious and cultural tolerance. "Our society is a model of coexistence but efforts are being made to destroy it through social media," he said, "a bill has been brought to regulate it."
