Nepal Social Media Ban: The government of Nepal has banned major social media platforms such as Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and YouTube.
On Thursday, September 5, the Nepalese government announced that these platforms are being blocked because they did not follow the rules for registration with the government.
According to a notice from the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, these companies were given seven days, starting August 28, to register under Nepal’s Social Network Use Management Directive, 2023.
However, none of the major platforms submitted their applications before the deadline ended on Wednesday night.
The blocked platforms include:
Meta-owned: Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp
Alphabet-owned: YouTube
X (formerly Twitter)
LinkedIn
Reddit
However, a few platforms have followed the rules or are in the process:
Shortlisted: TikTok, Viber, Viktok, Nimbuzz, Popo Live
Applied and under review: Telegram, Global Diary
Government’s Action
Sources in the ministry said that the decision was made in a meeting led by Communications and IT Minister Prithvi Subba Gurung.
These platforms were not complying with the mandatory registration required by Nepal’s 2023 directive for managing social media use.
The Nepal Telecommunication Authority has now been directed to block access to all unregistered platforms, and the ban is set to take effect from midnight on Thursday.
What the Government Says
Ministry spokesperson Gajendra Kumar Thakur stated:
However, he added that if any platform completes the registration process, access to it will be restored the same day.
Public Reaction and Impact
So far, companies like Meta, Alphabet, and X have not issued any official response to Nepal’s decision.
Observers have pointed out that this move could impact millions of Nepalis, especially those living, working, or studying abroad, who rely on platforms like Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp for daily communication.
Meanwhile, the Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) has strongly opposed the government’s move and called for the immediate withdrawal of the ban.
Government officials, however, argue that this step is important to ensure that social media platforms follow local laws and are held accountable for the content shared on them.
