Nepal's Supreme Court Sets Date to Review TikTok Ban Writ Petitions

On Friday, the Supreme Court of Nepal announced that it would conduct a preliminary hearing on Monday for the writ petitions submitted against the government's prohibition of the Chinese-owned social media platform TikTok. Following the Tihar holidays, legal professionals filed 10 writ petitions at the highest court on Friday, challenging the government's decision to ban TikTok in the mountainous nation. After registering these petitions, a court official confirmed that the preliminary hearing is set for November 20.

Around 10 writ petitions have been recorded, and the Spokesperson for the Supreme Court, Bhadrakali Pokharel, stated that their preliminary hearing will occur on November 20. All registered writ petitions are scheduled to be heard on Monday. Prominent advocate Dinesh Tripathi, advocate Swagat Nepal, and others have submitted individual writ petitions contesting the government's decision to ban TikTok. They demand that this decision be revoked as it infringes on citizens' right to express opinions and ideas. The petitioners argue that there was no legal justification for such an action.

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While freedom of expression is a fundamental right, a significant portion of society has criticized TikTok for promoting hate speech tendencies, according to the government. The prohibition of TikTok represents yet another obstacle for the Chinese networking platform, which has faced examination in several countries—such as India, the US, the European Union, and the UK—where governments have banned this application from their networks due to security concerns.