Bills introduced by ruling Communist party will bring in heavy fines and the threat of jail to stifle debate, say critics
Jail terms of up to five years could be imposed on people in Nepal who post “offensive” comment on social media sites, including Facebook and Instagram in the latest move by the government to crack down on dissent.
The information technology bill, introduced at the end of December, imposes fines of up to 1.5m rupees (about $13,000) for anyone posting content deemed to promote hate crime or ridicule. It would apply to all social networking sites.
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Written by Rojita Adhikari in Kathmandu
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/jan/13/journalists-in-nepal-fight-new-threat-to-press-freedom under the title “Journalists in Nepal fight new threat to press freedom”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
