The Bhutanese Leading the way.
The government is moving forward with amendments to the Information, Communications and Media (ICM) Act of Bhutan 2018 to strengthen enforcement of a zero-tolerance policy on pornographic and violent online content.
Presenting the Action Taken Report (ATR) to the National Assembly on 10th December, 2025, the Minister for Industry, Commerce and Employment (MoICE), Lyonpo Namgyal Dorji said the Ministry is working closely with GovTech in the amendment process to ensure all concerns and proposals are incorporated.
The GovTech is working on the Legislative Proposal on the Amendment of the Act.
The Minister informed the House that discussions are ongoing with the National Policy Coordination Division under OCASC to consolidate relevant provisions under the National Information and Media Policy and the e-Governance Policy.
The consolidated framework will include strong regulatory measures to prevent the production, sharing or access of pornographic and violent online content.
As part of the enforcement reforms, the Ministry is considering the establishment of a dedicated Enforcement and Compliance Division under the Bhutan InfoComm and Media Authority (BICMA) to strengthen monitoring and compliance functions.
MoICE will additionally support nationwide digital ethics and compliance awareness campaigns in collaboration with the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Education and Skills Development.
The ministry continues to strengthen the operational abilities of BICMA through timely interventions in HR capacity building, budgeting, and periodic review of the programs and KPIs assigned to the authority.
The Ministry through BICMA continues to work closely with the Royal Bhutan Police, the Department of Law and Order, and major social media platforms such as TikTok and Meta to monitor, report and remove harmful content.
Between July and October 2025, 17 such content items were taken down through official mechanisms.
The motion to strengthen regulatory enforcement and institute a zero-tolerance policy on pornographic related online content in the Kingdom of Bhutan was moved by the Member of Parliament, Sonam Tashi from the Lamgong-Wangchang constituency during the Third session of the Fourth Parliament with five recommendations.
The House acknowledged the ATR, endorsed the recommendations presented and directed the Ministry to report back on progress in the upcoming Winter Session.
