Sherab Lhamo

The Royal Bhutan Police (RBP) met with TikTok officials on January 8 to discuss strategies to promote responsible social media use, foster a positive online environment, and explore avenues for further collaboration.

The Bhutan Information, Communication, and Media Authority (BICMA) facilitated the visit to foster collaboration, understand TikTok’s operations, and to provide guidance for regulating Bhutanese TikTok users.

An RBP official said that the visit by TikTok officials was a follow-up on the social media stakeholders meeting involving BICMA, RBP, the GovTech Agency, and the Ministry of Home Affairs.

It was shared during the meeting that the TikTok platform stores data of subscribers–sign in, log in, content, and interaction data, among others.

BICMA will now assume responsibility of addressing civil issues related to TikTok content, while the RBP will investigate criminal matters, seeking assistance from TikTok as and when needed through the request system.

There are three types of requests including emergency requests, preservation requests (for retrieving investigation records from TikTok for court use), and law enforcement requests submitted through proper procedures.

The official said that they have requested the relevant agency to connect with social media giants like Facebook and TikTok to safeguard user rights, prevent criminal activity, and counter the exploitation of these platforms by individuals with malicious intent, and those individuals with self-serving interests from exploiting these platforms for personal gain and creating disharmony within society.

While acknowledging that Bhutan does not currently face major social media-related issues, the official expressed RBP’s concern about potential misuse, including exploitation by human and drug traffickers, the spread of misinformation, and the occurrence of cyberbullying and online harassment.

The official said that TikTok is ready to provide any assistance to RBP and BICMA.

Appointment of a focal person to facilitate the process and hiring of a Dzongkha language expert for the company was also discussed.

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