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Kathmandu, Sept 4: The Supreme Court has issued a mandamus order in response to petitions demanding the shutdown of OTT platforms. The order was issued Wednesday by a bench of Justices Tek Prasad Dhungana and Shanti Singh Thapa on two separate petitions filed five years ago by Advocate Bishweshwar Prasad Gautam and Manoj Gurung, General Secretary of the Cable Television Federation. The full or summary text of the ruling has not yet been made public.

According to Advocate Gurung, the petitions were filed on the grounds that there is no law regulating OTT platforms in Nepal, that billions of rupees are flowing abroad illegally, and that the state is losing millions in taxes. With the Supreme Court’s order, new laws must now be enacted for OTT platforms to operate, and such services will only be allowed after paying the required fees under those laws.

“OTT platforms in Nepal have been running without any legal framework. Our first demand was that they must operate only according to the law,” Gurung, who filed the petition on behalf of the Nepal Cable Television Federation said. “Meanwhile, the government enforced clean feed rules. But foreign advertisements are still being broadcast on OTT platforms.”

He said the petition also demanded the shutdown of such platforms carrying foreign ads. “Billions in transactions are taking place through OTT platforms. Due to lack of laws, millions in taxes are being evaded that should have gone to the state,” he said. “Our demand is that all this must come under legal jurisdiction and not evade the state.”

He further noted that the order could also affect social media, where foreign ads are freely broadcast. “On social media platforms, we see foreign advertisements. Either these ads must be stopped, or the platforms themselves could face closure,” Gurung said.

People’s News Monitoring Service