”The decision to block social media was not taken on a personal impulse, but as a duty to comply with court orders, directives, and cabinet decisions,” he said in a statement. ”Platforms like Reddit and Discord were not separately identified as high-risk and given priority.”
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The then Minister of Communications Prithvi Subba Gurung has defended the decision to deactivate social media. He made this claim while giving a statement to the Gauri Bahadur Karki-led inquiry commission.
‘The decision to block social media was not taken on a personal impulse, but as an obligation to comply with court orders, directives and the decisions of the Council of Ministers,’ he said in the statement. ‘Platforms like Reddit and Discord were not separately identified as high-risk and given priority.’ He also claimed that after the incidents of Bhadra 23, he sat in the Prime Minister’s Office and held continuous discussions and consultations with the Home Minister and others.
He claimed that the process of reopening social media was taken forward that same night as per the decision after analyzing the events, and claimed that the Prime Minister, Chief Secretary and others were involved in this. However, the government led by Sushila Karki imposed the ban on social media only a few days ago.
They have defended themselves by saying that the government has made the decision because the Supreme Court has already issued a mandate to regulate social media, claiming that the Nepal government has repeatedly published public notices and urged social media platforms to be listed with the ministry, designate contact points and contact persons within Nepal, and come under the purview of government regulation.
