The move follows the recent enforcement of a new rule ordering social media giants to establish liaison offices within the country.

With around a billion monthly users, TikTok has faced bans in multiple nations, including India and the US state of Montana, as well as restrictions within the UK Parliament's network.

Rekha Sharma, Nepal’s minister for communications and information technology, told BBC Nepali the decision to ban TikTok was due to the platform spreading malicious content.

She stressed “the ban would come into effect immediately and telecom authorities have been directed to implement the decision".

But Gagan Thapa, a senior leader of the Nepali Congress within the coalition government, criticised the move, viewing it as an infringement on freedom of expression and suggested officials should instead concentrate on regulating the platform.

TikTok, owned by ByteDance, has faced global scrutiny amid concerns that user data could be shared with the Chinese government. ByteDance has consistently denied these allegations.

TikTok did not provide a response to the BBC's request for comments regarding the new ban imposed by the Nepalese government.

Despite trailing behind social media giants like Facebook and Instagram, TikTok's growth among the youth surpasses that of its competitors.

In Nepal, over the last four years, more than 1,600 TikTok-related cybercrime cases have been reported.

A BBC Media Action report on media usage in Nepal indicates TikTok ranks as the third most used platform nationally.

While YouTube and Facebook remain popular across all age groups, TikTok is particularly favored by the younger demographic, with more than 80 per cent of social media users aged between 16 and 24 engaging with the platform.

Pakistan has temporarily banned TikTok on at least four occasions since October 2020, and Indonesia recently shut down its TikTok-related online shopping service.