Kathmandu: The Social Media Bill, 2081 has been withdrawn from Nepal’s National Assembly. The government had decided to retract the bill while it was under consideration in the upper house, and the National Assembly unanimously endorsed the decision on Monday.
During Monday’s meeting, Assembly Chairperson Narayan Dahal presented the proposal to withdraw the bill for a decision. As no votes were cast against the proposal, the Chair announced that the bill had been formally withdrawn.
The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology had decided on Magh 20 to seek the withdrawal of the bill and subsequently sent an official letter to the National Assembly on Magh 21. Prior to this, the Council of Ministers had granted approval to the ministry to proceed with withdrawing the bill.
The bill, which was registered in the National Assembly last year, had remained stalled after becoming controversial. In Bhadra last year, the government attempted to move the bill forward and imposed restrictions on social media platforms, triggering widespread protests known as the “Gen Z Movement.” Following the movement and the subsequent collapse of the government, the bill could not progress further.
