In the meeting, it was agreed to move forward by preparing an action plan to regulate misleading information.
What you should know
Home Minister Om Prakash Aryal has held joint discussions with officials of the Ministry of Relations and its telecommunications bodies, the Press Council Nepal, and the Cyber Bureau of the Nepal Police to regulate misleading and false information.
In an all-party meeting held at the Ministry of Home Affairs on Friday under the chairmanship of Home Minister Aryal, Home Minister Aryal expressed his views on how all bodies can work effectively to prevent and combat unauthorized use of information without affecting the right to information and freedom of the press.
The meeting was attended by Home Secretary Rameshwor Dangal, Communications and Information Technology Secretary Radhika Aryal, Chief of Nepal Telecommunication Authority Bhupendra Bhandari, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs Ananda Kafle, Chief Officer of Press Council Nepal Jhabindra Bhusal, Deputy Inspector General of the Cyber Bureau under Nepal Police Navinda Aryal, and representatives of Nepal Telecom.
The meeting agreed to prepare an action plan to regulate such misleading and deceptive information and move forward, Home Spokesperson and Joint Secretary Ananda Kafle informed.
In the meeting, stakeholders expressed their views on the rapid spread of various types of misleading, deceptive and harmful information through social media and other digital media. It was felt that regulation was necessary as such information could have an adverse impact on personal reputation, institutional image, social harmony and national security.
The meeting discussed the role of various bodies of the Government of Nepal in this task, as well as plans to increase citizen awareness by conducting a digital literacy campaign and making the general public aware and responsible for preventing the spread of such misleading information.
