The Committee to Protect Journalists joined more than two dozen media and civil society groups in a joint statement on March 5, urging the Nepalese government and parliament to revise a recently proposed social media bill and the newly established Media Council. The statement noted that the bill granted the government “overreaching powers” that could threaten press freedom.
The statement said the bill’s “overbroad and vague provisions” could be misused to target human rights defenders, journalists, and critics. It noted that parliament introduced the bill and founded the council within weeks of each other, raising “serious concerns about the government’s move to exert control over freedom of expression and access to information.”
Read the full statement here.