The Ministry of Home Affairs has retracted its directive to chief district officers to monitor the media following widespread criticism.
The ministry’s retraction came on Thursday evening after it came under fire for its decision to grant authority to chief district officers and police chiefs to monitor the media’s content and take action on it.
Issuing a statement on Thursday evening, the ministry said that a draft of directives to chief district officers prepared on Tuesday was published in the media and that the concerns expressed by the media sector and mediapersons regarding points 1.3 and 2.1 of the draft had drawn its attention.
In view of the concerns published in the media, a circular has been issued on Thursday by removing the aforementioned points and including only other points, the statement further said.
Earlier in the day, the ministry had issued a 21-point directive to chief district officers. Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane’s secretariat had sent the directive to the media.
The directive courted controversy for its second point, which was related to the ethical use of social media and controlling cyber crime. It directed the chief district officers to set up a desk comprising an officer-level employee in each District Administration Office and District Police Office to monitor the content of online news portals, print media, and social media including Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) and take against the guilty.
