KATHMANDU: Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Prithvi Subba Gurung, has said the government is preparing to introduce a bill to regulate the use of social media in order to curb disorder and misuse being carried out under the name of media.
Speaking at a press conference organized by Press Chautari Nepal in Kaski on Friday, Minister Gurung said attempts were being made to spread confusion about the proposed bill.
“This bill is not meant for control but for regulation,” Gurung said. “This is a democratic government, and it has no mandate to act in a way that suppresses democratic values and norms.”
He stressed that activities against nationalism, sovereignty, and national unity cannot be tolerated, adding that it had become necessary to bring a legal framework to effectively control cybercrime.
Pointing to the scale of the issue, the Minister revealed that more than 19,000 complaints related to cybercrime had been filed with police in just the past nine to ten months.
Similarly, Gurung announced that the government is also planning to introduce a new Media Council Bill to replace the existing Press Council Bill. He said the new legislation would regulate all forms of media, including online platforms that were not well developed when the earlier law was drafted.
“We are revising outdated communications-related laws while also preparing new ones to meet current needs,” the Minister said.
Comment