KATHMANDU, Aug 19: The Supreme Court (SC) has issued an order directing that social media platforms operate only after registration. The order was issued in relation to the Sidhakura.com case, and the full text was made public in the name of the government.
A full bench of nine SC justices issued the order regarding social media, online media, and the dissemination of court information. The bench included then Chief Justice Bishowambhar Prasad Shrestha, and Justices Prakashman Singh Raut, Sapana Pradhan Malla, Prakash Kumar Dhungana, Hariprasad Phuyal, Nahakul Subedi, Binod Sharma, Mahesh Sharma Paudel, and Balakrishna Dhakal. The bench directed the regulation of platforms ranging from public media to YouTube. The full text of the verdict, dated September 29, 2024, was released on Friday, setting standards for the publication and broadcasting of court information.
“As much as public communication and press freedom are important, discouraging the spread of false information is equally necessary. Just as the state must protect freedom of thought, expression, and the right to communicate, it is also the state’s duty to control misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation,” the order stated.
Digitization of social allowance in progress
The order instructed that both domestic and foreign online and social media platforms must register with the competent authority before operating. They are responsible for assessing and monitoring unwanted content.
The full text states: “The Government of Nepal must immediately make appropriate legal arrangements, writing to the Prime Minister and the Office of the Council of Ministers, to ensure that domestic and foreign online and social media platforms register with competent authorities before operation, evaluate and monitor unwanted content, hold digital and social media accountable, discourage misuse through fake or pseudonymous accounts, conduct reliable monitoring through regulatory authorities, and take any other necessary measures.”
The Press Council Nepal (PCN) was also instructed to provide orientation: “Prepare necessary standards to organize, regulate, and effectively transmit judicial information and news via any online or social media platform, maintaining the dignity, respect, public trust, and credibility of the judiciary. Orient the Registrar General and media personnel associated with the courts accordingly,” the full text stated.
The SC further instructed the government and the PCN to make necessary arrangements for policy, legal, and structural reforms in the press sector. The full text emphasized that the SC’s communication policy must publish and broadcast information professionally, impartially, reliably, officially, and factually, using restrained and dignified language without affecting the dignity, respect, or public trust in the judiciary.
The order also stated: “It is necessary to discourage the publishing or broadcasting of any news, information, commentary, or writing that could affect the decision, order, or proceedings of any case in court, influence the administration of justice, cause personal insult to the court, judges, lawyers, or staff, or undermine public trust in the judiciary.”
