New York, February 14, 2025—The Nepalese government should withdraw a recently introduced social media bill that is expected to undermine press freedom, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday.
“Nepal’s proposed social media law is ripe for misuse against journalists reporting on critical topics of public interest,” said CPJ Asia Program Coordinator Beh Lih Yi. “Nepalese lawmakers should refuse to accept the proposed legislation unless it is significantly revised to protect the rights to freedom of expression and privacy.”
Nepal Minister of Communication and Information Technology Prithvi Subba Gurung presented the “Bill on the Operation, Use, and Regulation of Social Media” in the National Assembly, the federal parliament’s upper house, on February 9. Legislators can propose amendments before voting on the bill, which provides for hefty fines, license revocations for social media platforms, and prison sentences of up to five years for users.
The bill includes provisions prohibiting publishing or sharing posts with “false or misleading information” or “gruesome content” — measures that Santosh Sigdel, executive director of the non-profit Digital Rights Nepal, says would impose “an impractical onus on users.” It also bars the creation or use of anonymous profiles, which could restrict investigative journalists in particular.
Sigdel is also concerned that the proposed law could allow a government department to surveil journalists through its monitoring of social media content. The unnamed department “responsible for information technology” could also order social media platforms to remove content.
Sigdel told CPJ that the bill does not provide any exceptions for content posted by the media, contravening the rights to freedom of expression and press freedom as outlined under Articles 17 and 19 of the Nepal constitution. Social media platforms would be required to hand over user data to the government, contravening privacy rights under the constitution and the 2018 Privacy Act, he said.
Gurung said the bill “does not restrict people’s freedom of expression or press freedom.” The minister did not respond to CPJ’s calls and text messages requesting comment.