Digital Rights Weekly/Year 1/Issue 19

Oct 14, 2022

ECN Established Press Office
On October 30, 2022, Chief Election Commissioner Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya inaugurated “Press Office”, which has been established by the Election Commission of Nepal (ECN) to monitor mainsteam media and social media during the elections for the House of Representatives and provincial assemblies. The office will keep an eye on the information appearing in the media and social media as well as political parties’ and candidates’ actions in relation to the code of conduct in social media.
The press office will have representatives from the Cyber Bureau of Nepal Army, Cyber Bureau of Nepal police, the Advertising Board, the Press Council, the Telecommunication Authority, social media experts, and experts on misinformation and hate speech. The office, headed by the joint secretary and spokesperson of the ECN, will monitor the news, and information published in the media as well as the activities on personal blogs and social media of the candidates.
However, Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) has expressed concerns to the “Press Office”, alleging that ECN is attempting to restrict press freedom and citizen’s freedom of expression via press office in the name of conducting fair election.
As Nepal already do have Press council in charge of policing the information distributed in the media, FNJ has urged the Election Commission to reverse this action right away and uphold press freedom and freedom of speech.
Though Press Council regulates legacy media and online media, content in social media is still an unregulated territory in Nepal. As of now it has been the social platform itself that has been moderating content. With the establishment of Press office, even though for only during election, it would be the first time that any state agencies will be directly monitoring content in social media. Press Office should be careful not to infringe upon citizen’s freedom of expression while regulating social media during election.
For more: Himalaya Times

DIGITAL RIGHTS ISSUES OF THE WEEK

Truth Social now Available on Play Store
Truth Social, the social media app created by former President Donald Trump, is now available for download on the Google Play Store. In August, Google banned the app over “insufficient” content moderation policies.
Truth Social, which offers a Twitter-like social experience, markets itself as a platform that “encourages an open, free, and honest global conversation.” It first launched on the Apple App store in February before attempting to offer its app through the Google Play Store.
For more: Technology Khabar

NT Begins Telecom Services in East Rukum
Nepal Telecom (NTC) has begun telecom service (mobile network) in Mahat, Bhume Rural Municipality – 6, East Rukum after its tower came into operation. As the service commenced around the festive times, the locals have been delighted as they can conveniently establish communication on their handsets without venturing to nearby villages.
For more: NepaliTelecom

Action to be Taken Against Flying Drones without Permission
The Ministry of Home Affairs has issued a notice warning of action against the unauthorized flying of drones without permission as it was found that various individuals/agencies have unauthorizedly flown unmanned aerial equipment (Remotely Piloted Aircraft Drone) without taking permission.
As per law to operate drones weighing less than 2 kg prior permission from the concerned District Administration Office is required, and for drones weighing more than 2 kilograms (4.5 pounds) that fly 400 feet or more above ground level, prior authorization from the Department of Tourism, Ministry of Home Affairs, and the CAAN is required.
For more: ICTsamachar

Nepal Infra and Communication’s License Revoked by NTA
Nepal Telecommunication Authority (NTA) has revoked the license of Nepal Infra and Communication as it did not submit an application for renewal. The Authority has published a notice stating that the license of the company has been automatically revoked in accordance with Section 25 (5) of the Telecommunication Act, 2053 BS.
For more: Technology Khabar

ELECTION AND DIGITAL RIGHTS ISSUES

No Election Opinion Poll can be Conducted on Social Media
Election commission of Nepal has prohibited the use of social media to conduct opinion polls on political parties and candidates for the upcoming election. Commission has warned to take strict action against anyone that conducts opinion poll claiming that it violates the election code of conduct.
Section 2 (p) of the Election code of conduct, 2079 states that no opinion poll can be conducted or the results of the such survey can be announced or published until the voting is over. Action will be taken as per the law if anyone acts against the above provisions.
Though well intended by the commission, DRN believes commission’s take on polls is a unreasonable, as taking opinion polls is standard democratic practice around the world during elections.
For more: ICTsamachar

ECN Mandates Candidates to File Social Media Campaign Expenses
According to the Election Commission of Nepal (ECN), all candidates and political parties are required to include all campaign-related expenses, including those for social media advertising, when filing the final declaration of expenses.
In a statement released by the ECN on October 10th, the commission declared that social media advertisements made by political parties and candidates will be counted as election expenses and must stay under the ECN-set spending cap.
For more: Election Commission of Nepal, eKantipur

Digital Rights Weekly is a week-based update on Digital Rights and ICT issues, that happened throughout the week, compiled and analyzed from the digital rights perspective by Digital Rights Nepal (DRN). DRN is a not-for-profit initiative dedicated to the protection and promotion of digital rights, including the right to online freedom of expression and association, online privacy, access to information, and related issues such as internet governance, cyber laws/policies, and cyber securities in Nepal.

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