New IT Bill 2076 HIGHLIGHTS
- For any kind of attack on or enticement to attack the President, you have to serve a jail term of five to ten years.
- Jail term of up to two years or a fine of up to Rs 20,000 or both for use of an abusive language against any person.
- Jail term of up to five years or a fine of up to Rs 1.50 million or both for demeaning any person on social media.
- Any individual guilty of cyberbullying will be imposed a fine of up to Rs 50,000 or six months jail term or both.
- Out of 26 members of the committee, 12 voted in the favor of the bill, 4 Nepal Congress lawmakers voted against, and the rest withhold their voting.
“The bill is against the spirit of the constitution and it curtails freedom of expression and the basic rights of people.” – NC lawmakers
Recently, the Development and Technology Committee of the Parliament has passed a new Information Technology Bill. This new oppressive bill threats demeaning someone on social networking sites. It’s almost on par with the physical attack on the country’s President.
Out of 26 members of the committee, 12 voted in the favor of the bill, 4 Nepal Congress lawmakers voted against and the rest withhold their voting. Although there was opposition from Nepali Congress lawmakers and others in the House of Representatives (HoR), the Development Committee of the Parliament out ruled it. If this bill is passed, then citizens will be charged with some serious accusations. This bill may have some beneficial points for the country as it will strictly take an action against any cyber-crime but moreover, it seems the government is terrorizing the citizen with threats of a jail term to stop criticisms against them.
For any kind of attack or enticement to attack the President, the General Code has a provision of a jail term of five to ten years. For the use of abusive language against any person, the General Code has stated jail term of up to two years or a fine of up to Rs. 20,000 or both. Provision of a jail term of up to five years or a fine of up to NPR 1.5 million or both for demeaning any person on social media. Those found guilty of cyberbullying will be imposed a fine of up to Rs. 50,000 or six months jail term or both. Any individual responsible for deleting or interfering with information stored in other’s computer will serve the jail term from one year to three years.
‘The bill is against the spirit of the constitution and it curtails freedom of expression and the basic rights of people’, said NC lawmaker Bahadur Singh Lama.
As of now, this Bill is tabled in the House of Representatives. It will be a law if passed by both houses. So what’s your take on this new IT Bill?
You can check and read the complete IT Bill here.
Are you ok with this or against it? Please let us know in the comment section below.
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