[4] According to the Article 115 of the 1990 Constitution, any form of censorship was outlawed, and a free press was strongly guaranteed with announcement of parliamentary democracy.
[5] Unfortunately, press media was heavily censored in 2001 and 2002 by the king Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev, unlike he promised.
The king implemented Clause 1 of Article 115 of the 1990 constitution to suspend the guaranteed freedom of thought and expression that banned censorship.
[6] As a result, in 2002, hundreds or maybe even thousands of journalists who indicated their political opinions on the media were arrested, beaten, or detained, and some of them were killed to fight for freedom of expression guaranteed in the constitution.
[7] In 2006, massive protests occurred to force the king to realize parliamentary democracy, and this resulted in returning some of fundamental press freedom.
The Nepal Press Council and the Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) have a code of conduct, but it lacks effective systems and mechanisms, and it needs more support from media stakeholders.
[9] Self censorship can be forced on internet content by intimidation as happened in the case of a satirical folk song Lutna Sake Lut, which was taken down from YouTube by the author amid threats to his person.