Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – The long list of countries blocking TikTok is growing. Earlier this week, Nepal announced plans to ban the Chinese social media giant.

Local authorities say TikTok is widely misused, which has a negative impact on society. Local media said there had been more than 1,600 reports of cybercrime related to TikTok over the past 4 years in Nepal.

Nepal’s Minister of Communication and Information (Menkominfo) Rekha Sharma said the decision to block TikTok was based on the results of a cabinet meeting on Monday (13/11), quoted by Reuters.

“The cabinet is trying to shut it down [TikTok],” he said, quoted Tuesday (14/11/2023).

Nepal Telco Authority head Purushottam Khanal said internet service operators had been asked to close access to TikTok.

“Some have closed, the rest will be gradual,” said Khanal.

TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for confirmation. However, previously TikTok said that blocking in various countries was a form of misunderstanding of its application.

Opposition parties in Nepal criticize government policies. Blocking TikTok is considered an ineffective, immature and irresponsible action.

“There is a lot of negative content on other social media. Everything should be regulated through regulation, not blocking,” said Pradeep Gyawali, former Minister of Foreign Affairs and a senior leader in the Nepal Communist Party.

Previously, India, which is Nepal’s neighbor, banned TikTok, along with several other applications originating from China, in 2020. The reason is that Chinese applications are considered to endanger national security.

Another South Asian country, Pakistan, has blocked TikTok four times. The government considers the service immoral. Afghanistan has also banned TikTok since April 2022 because it is considered to be contrary to Islamic law.

The widespread blocking of TikTok in Asia stems from the many criticisms of the application in Western countries. Australia, Canada, Denmark, Austria, the Netherlands, Estonia, France, New Zealand, Norway, the UK and the United States (US) are some of the countries that currently partially or completely block the use of TikTok.

[Gambas:Video CNBC]

(fab/fab)