YouTube should be under tax net: Press Council Nepal

The Press Council Nepal has suggested the government bring YouTube channels under the tax net by registering and listing them. The council also suggested forming a separate independent body to regulate social media, including YouTube. The council suggested the regulation and management of the overall social network except for the media.

The council has also suggested the government to take the necessary initiative to formulate and implement the necessary policy on keeping or contacting the offices of the multinational companies operating in Nepal. The council made the suggestion when there were complaints that the victim's side had not been heard due to the absence of a liaison office or company representative on the network, including YouTube and Facebook.

The council has also suggested that registration and listing of YouTube channels under the tax net would increase the tax of the state and make it mandatory for the company operating such media to update its budget every year.

A written suggestion sent to the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology on Thursday, states that an independent regulatory body should be set up with the representation of either the Nepal Police, Nepal Telecommunication Authority, or a related regulatory body.

Similarly, the suggestion mentions that the Press Council Nepal will monitor the social networks related to media and journalism. It is also suggested that the law should be amended to make it more effective and a directive should be made immediately.

Additionally, it is suggested that a five-member branch structure including one monitoring officer and four monitors should be set up for regular monitoring at the outset.

It is suggested that pages, groups and other media platforms created by the general public to influence the larger community through social media should be brought under the purview of the law and an independent regulatory mechanism should be set up to monitor and take action in this regard.

Under its legal obligation, the council suggested the government review the policy on journalism from time to time and give its opinion on the development of the sector. “In the meantime, we had discussions with experts. We have suggested solving the current problems in the network including YouTube by doing research. The council will always facilitate its implementation”, said council chairman Bal Krishna Basnet.

The last board meeting of the council also decided to give written suggestions to the government regarding social media and what can be posted. It has been pointed out that there should be a policy system to provide adequate information to the public about what content is being violated and for this, it is necessary to increase 'digital literacy' among the users.

The positive effects of using social media should be managed and the negative effects should be discouraged. One of the biggest negative effects of using social media is fake news. The first attempt to reduce such efforts is public awareness. The council suggested that the stakeholders mentioned above should set up a help desk and a public awareness campaign should be launched from time to time.