According to recent news reports, so-called porn videos of Nepali girls that have been posted to video file-sharing sites such as YouTube are wreaking havoc with a traditional society that has only recently opened up to the wider world.
In 2004, the government passed the Electronic Transaction and Digital Signature Act (ETDSA), also known as "Cyber Law," which was intended to address issues such as pornography, cyber-stalking, cyber-scams, online fraud and software piracy, with the government is fully authorized to punish both individual and institutional offenxders. Government officials admit, however, that the law has been a failure.
"Though a Cyber Law was introduced by [Nepal's] government a couple of years ago, it hasn't been effective and has failed to address many issues," Nepal Department of Communication director general Shreedhar Gautam said.
Meanwhile, the country is experiencing a surge in both domestic and foreign made adult content making it's way into the country physically, on DVDs, and on the Internet.
Indeed, much of what passes for pornography in Nepal is tame by Western standards, and some is merely nude images of women, but a increasing number of bone fide adult content is also being made in Nepal and smuggled out of the country or uploaded to websites.
The government is more concerned about adult fare coming into the country, however, even as it recognizes that sex scandals that a few years ago might have instigated heated public debate are today met with little more than a shrug by the population.
