As the Social Media Bill is under consideration in the National Assembly, a senior ruling party leader has said the bill will be heavily revised before endorsement.

Speaking at an interaction on Friday, Nepali Congress leader Krishna Prasad Sitaula said he has requested the ruling parties not to issue a whip to endorse the bill in its present form. “This bill is highly problematic. It needs revision,” said Sitaula. “I have asked the ruling parties not to issue a whip for it.”

The controversial bill, which was registered in the upper house in the last week of January, is yet to be discussed in the House. If Sitaula's claim is anything to go by, amendments will be registered for a number of provisions in the bill.

“While there will be intense discussions in the House and its committee, we will also discuss with experts and stakeholders before its endorsement," said Sitaula, who is also parliamentary leader of Nepali Congress in the upper house.

The leader’s remarks come at a time when stakeholders have strongly objected to some of the provisions of the bill.

If the bill is endorsed, social media platforms will face fines up to Rs10 million if they do not comply with government regulations, while users disseminating misleading information could be subject to up to five years of imprisonment and fines up to Rs1.5 million.

As per the bill, companies, firms or organisations seeking to operate social media platforms must obtain government approval. Different types of applications (apps), websites, and blogs, among others, created in cyberspace that allow interaction through electronic means have been defined as social media platforms.

The bill has listed out offences that can make users liable to paying hefty fines and imprisonment.

Those who transmit false or misleading information using a fake identity are liable to the most severe penalty, which includes up to five years of imprisonment and a fine up to Rs1.5 million.

“No one shall create a false, permanent or temporary group, or page on any social media platform, either individually or in group, and transmit false or misleading information that undermines Nepal’s sovereignty, geographical integrity or adversely affects national interest,” states one section of the bill.

Any individual who posts or shares content on social media that “disturbs the sovereignty, territorial integrity, national unity and security of Nepal” will be imprisoned for up to five years or fined up to Rs500,000, or both, the bill further states.

The bill is set to be introduced in the upper house for preliminary discussions. Once the upper house officially decides to start deliberations on the bill, lawmakers will be allowed to register amendments. The upper chamber, after endorsement, will forward it to the lower house for deliberations and approval before being returned to the upper house for review. It will then be forwarded to the President’s Office for authentication.

If the bill is endorsed without revision, those who create fake pages and groups and from them, post or share content from them, share others’ content, comment or make calls using such platforms will be imprisoned for three months or fined up to Rs50,000 or both.

Using social media to harass, torment, threaten, embarrass, insult, dehumanise or spread rumours and imitate someone’s voice will make the offender liable to two years in prison or a fine of up to Rs300,000. The bill says anyone who ‘hacks’ someone’s social media account will be imprisoned for up to three years and fined up to Rs1.5 million.

The bill also proposes that those who make ‘deepfake’ videos using artificial intelligence and spread them on social media can be jailed for up to 2 years or fined up to Rs300,000. There are also provisions in the bill for those who spread obscene, false or misleading content to be imprisoned for up to 2 years or fined up to Rs 300,000.

Last week, the National Human Rights Commission also expressed serious exception to the bill and announced to submit recommendations for the revision in it in the federal parliament. It said the bill could restrict citizens’ freedom of expression.