Unannounced TikTok ban on ‘Nepo Kids’ videos sparks censorship concerns

Kathmandu: Several TikTok videos satirizing the lifestyles of children of political leaders have been made unavailable in Nepal, raising suspicions that the government is censoring content critical of those in power.

When reviewing a video related to the ‘Nepo Baby’ trend, TechPana found sufficient grounds to suspect government interference. Social media users have also criticized the move as censorship.

One such case involves a video posted by TikTok user ‘KNP 9149’ titled Nepal Nepo Babies from Corrupted Families. Posted three days ago, the video received more than 41,000 likes before being made inaccessible in Nepal. While it shows up as “not available” on Nepal’s servers, it can still be viewed abroad through a VPN. This has fueled speculation that the government pressured TikTok to selectively block unfavorable content in Nepal.

TikTok creator Nimesh Shrestha also raised the issue in a video, saying content linked to the ‘Nepo Baby Trend’ and the ‘Gen-Z Movement’ had either been removed or made unavailable in searches. “When searching for ‘Nepo Babies in Nepal’, nothing appears,” he said. “Videos about Nepo Babies have been made invisible.” Other users on TikTok and Reddit have reported reduced reach or removal of their videos on similar topics.

Meanwhile, the government has banned 26 platforms, including Facebook, X, Instagram, and WhatsApp, since Thursday. TikTok, however, continues to operate under the Directive for Managing the Use of Social Media, 2080. Users have accused the government of misusing provisions in the directive to silence criticism. Sub-section (2)(f) of Section 13 allows officials to “immediately write to the contact point of the relevant social media platform to remove content published or disseminated in violation of the directive,” while Section 15 authorizes the ministry to issue necessary instructions to platform operators. Critics believe the government may have used these clauses to order TikTok to remove politically sensitive videos.

According to TikTok’s transparency report, more than 1.876 million videos were removed from Nepal in the first quarter of 2025 (January–March). Of these, over 364,000 were taken down for violating “safety and decency” rules, including hate speech, abuse, and violent content. Another 343,843 videos related to child protection and 324,383 linked to fraud, gambling, and illegal propaganda were also removed.

However, TikTok has not clarified whether content critical of political leaders has also been deleted at the government’s request. Multiple attempts to reach Gajendra Kumar Thakur, spokesperson for the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, were unsuccessful.

 

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