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Seven months ago , the Nepali government enforced a nationwide blanket ban on the social media platform , TikTok , citing the Chinese owned application was creating problems within the values of the Nepali community .
“ TikTok is being used to disturb social harmony and disrupt family structure and social relations ,” explained Nepal ’ s Minister for Communications and Information Technology , Rekha Sharma , on November 16 , 2023 .
It was a move seen as an attempt to stifle free speech and open expression , to remove the people of Nepal from the wider international digital community , and yet Nepal isn ’ t the only country to enforce such rules .
In 2020 India became the first nation to ban what was considered one of the country ’ s most popular social media platforms . More than 200 million Indians were TikTok users , often creating opportunities that weren ’ t afforded ordinary people , with subcultures thriving and boutique industries flourishing . The banning seemed to come about after border tension between China and India erupted with deadly consequences earlier in the year .
The ban came into effect immediately , almost overnight it was gone , or at least disappeared from users devices , their accounts and content still online just not available within India . Similar , yet less significant bans have been enforced in many countries that see the Chinese ownership as a threat to national security . Australia , the USA , and a number of European countries prevent the app being installed on devices owned by the government , and steps are in place to take such moves further .
The experience of India , Nepal , and a lesser extent Pakistan , which has had rolling bans on TikTok since 2020 , has seen that the people affected most are those on the lower end of the socioeconomic scale , people who were using the platform as a way of generating income . Something that many believe will happen in countries like the United States where similar plans are afoot to control the content or shut down TikTok entirely .
TikTok has quickly become one of the most popular social media forms due to its algorithms being based on those who regularly share content rather than something like Instagram that concentrates on those who have larger followings . Some users propose that TikTok is akin to the
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