The government of Nepal has enforced a ban on several social media platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, for their failure to register with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. This move, which follows a Supreme Court order and repeated warnings from the government, has resulted in widespread outages and user complaints across the country. …
Social Media Outage in Nepal: A Government Mandate
The government of Nepal has enforced a ban on several social media platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, for their failure to register with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. This move, which follows a Supreme Court order and repeated warnings from the government, has resulted in widespread outages and user complaints across the country.
Why the Ban Was Enforced
The government set a seven-day deadline for all social media platforms to register and comply with new regulations, which included appointing a local representative and a compliance officer. The deadline expired on Wednesday past midnight, but major platforms like Meta (Facebook, Instagram) and Alphabet (YouTube) failed to register. The ban is part of the government’s effort to regulate content and ensure accountability, with officials stating that services will be restored once platforms complete the registration process.
The Impact on Users and Society
This ban has caused significant disruption for Nepalis, especially those who use social media for communication, business, and news. A user on X questioned how Nepalis living abroad would communicate with family back home. Platforms like TikTok, Viber, and Telegram were not affected as they had already registered or were in the process of doing so. The move is viewed by some as an attempt to curb freedom of expression, while the government maintains it’s a necessary step to address issues like misinformation, fraud, and cybercrime.
