Gajendra Kumar Thakur, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Communication, said that the company has committed to follow Nepal's policy on social media, and a decision on registration will be taken within this week.
What you should know
The messaging app Telegram, which was banned by the government last month for being used in activities like online fraud and money laundering, is now in the registration process. Telegram has submitted a formal application for listing (registration) to the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology. The Ministry said that it will be reviewed within this week.
The app was banned on July 2. The Nepal Telecommunication Authority, the regulator of the telecommunication and internet sector, had instructed all telecommunication service providers to block access to Telegram. Joint Secretary Gajendra Kumar Thakur, who is also the spokesperson of the Ministry of Communications, informed that Telegram has submitted an application with necessary documents to be registered in Nepal.
Telegram representative Sandeep Yadav came to Nepal after the government banned the app. Thakur said that the company is committed to follow Nepal's policy on social media. "It is not our intention to block any app forever," he said, "We have no enmity with any app. They have come to the registration process saying that they accept Nepal's conditions. It will be decided within this week. If Teej had not fallen, it could have been decided today. Telegram has entered the registration process after the authority issued a notification about the ban.
The number of Telegram users in Nepal is 1.1 million. Deepakraj Awasthi, the spokesperson of Cyber Bureau of Nepal Police, said that the number of online frauds is increasing recently and many complaints are received. "It has been found that this app is often used to communicate with the general public about frauds such as investing online to increase money," he said. The police also have difficulty in identifying criminals.
27 organizations advocating for digital rights and freedom of expression jointly expressed their objection to the banning of Telegram in Nepal. Among them were Digital Rights Nepal, Yuvalaya, Freedom Forum, Dignity Initiative, Media Action Nepal, Center for Media Research-Nepal, Challoyd Safe Net, Online TV Journalists Association Nepal, Women Leaders in Technology, Mero Adda, Media Chatura, Advocacy Forum Nepal, Amnesty International Nepal, Voices of Women Media and Nepal Internet Foundation.
According to them, such a ban will directly affect Nepal's growing digital economy, small enterprises and technology-based service delivery. Also, they expressed their deep displeasure over this as it would be a serious violation of freedom of expression and civil rights. Along with
Telegram, the Global View app has also submitted an application to be listed. According to the ministry, the social network management unit in the ministry will make a decision on these apps that are in the registration process by Friday. Currently, five social media platforms have been registered in Nepal. Among them, Viber and TikTok are the biggest apps. Vitak, Nimbuj and pop-up apps are also registered. Spokesperson Thakur gave an example of
Tik Tok which was also closed earlier and later released after promising to follow the rules. Noting that recently the Supreme Court has decided that all social networks should be registered, he said that the ministry is taking legal advice on how to inform social media platforms about this order. "Earlier, Meta and other companies said that there is no law in Nepal," he said, "Now everyone has to register as the order of the Supreme Court is like the law."
Spokesperson Thakur says that since it is the government's responsibility to implement the Supreme Court's decision, questions will be raised against the government if apps are allowed to run without registration. With Telegram in the registration process, now other apps are also expected to come for registration.
