Legal and policy reforms afoot to curb misuse of social networking sites : Minister Dr Timilsina

Kathmandu . Minister for Information and Communications, Dr Bikram Timilsina, has said the government was working actively for policy and legal reforms to curb fraud, character assassination, defamation and the publicity of false and misleading information/content on social networking sites. Minister Dr Timilsina said it while responding to the queries raised by lawmakers in the House of Representatives on Wednesday.

The government is for controlling rising incidents of fraud and harassment propelled via social media, Minister Timilsina said, adding that reform in legal fronts were forwarded accordingly.

The draft Mass Communication Bill and the Media Council Bill have the provision to minimize the trend of publishing false and fabricated information via social media and mass media outlets. These Bills will be registered in the parliament soon, according to him.

“The Ministry is also planning a separate legal mechanism to systematize and regulate social media,” Minister Timilsina said. The Media Council Bill has been drafted in a bid to reinforce the Press Council Nepal with additional powers and responsibilities.

It will further create atmosphere to make journalists abide by code of conduct, thereby making journalism dignified and professional. The members of the House of Representatives were made aware that coordination and collaboration were being made with relevant agencies like the Ministry of Communications, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Cyber Bureau of Nepal Police, and the Nepal Telecommunications Authority to control rising cases of cyber frauds. The authorities identified numerous online betting sites and apps, more than 305,000 unique betting sites and new betting apps and closed down through the Nepal Telecommunications Authority.

Moreover, the government is serious to bring to justice those engaging in the activities such as character assassination, spread of false information and confusion through fake social media accounts. The Cyber Bureau of Nepal Police, and the Cyber Security Centre were working in unison in this regard, he added.
Protection of citizen’s right to privacy in digital age receives equal emphasis, Dr Timilsina said, adding that protecting children from the negative impacts of social media are other major concern.

The Minister even cautioned the socially disruptive side of social media including family breakdown, which could create further negative impact on children. The government would forward necessary policies in line with Nepali context by studying the best practices like age-based restrictions and regulatory standards which are adopted by various countries to safeguard children from social media usage.