Government moves to withdraw Social Media Bill
Summary
The Nepali government proposed withdrawing the controversial Social Media Bill, which included harsh penalties for misinformation and required platform approvals, following widespread criticism.
Key Points
- The government moved a proposal at the National Assembly to withdraw the controversial Social Media Bill.
- The Social Media Bill introduced by the previous KP Sharma Oli administration included hefty fines and jail terms for misinformation and fake identities.
- The bill required companies operating social media platforms to obtain government approval and defined various online applications as social media platforms.
- Penalties in the bill ranged from fines to imprisonment for offences including spreading false information, creating fake pages, harassment, hacking, and using AI for deepfake videos.
- The withdrawal proposal is pending approval by the National Assembly, expected in the next meeting.
