Nepal Blocks Most Social Media Sites For Failing To Register With The Government

The authorities of Nepal is blocking commonly utilized societal platforms including Facebook, X, Instagram, WeChat, Reddit and YouTube owed to noncompliance pinch a caller rule requiring them to registry pinch nan government, The Associated Press reported. Five platforms including TikTok and Viber that did registry successful nan state were exempted from nan ban.

Social media companies were asked to supply a section contact, grievance handler and personification responsible for self-regulation to debar a shutdown and galore apparently grounded to do so. "Unregistered societal media platforms will beryllium deactivated coming onwards," ministry spokesperson Gajendra Kumar Thakur told Agence France Presse.

The Nepalese authorities precocious introduced a directive forcing societal media companies to guarantee their platforms were well-managed, responsible and accountable. The authorities said nan measure was an effort to curb online hate, rumors and cybercrime. However, it was wide criticized by opponents arsenic a instrumentality for censorship, pinch immoderate groups calling it a usurpation of citizens' basal rights.

"It is not incorrect to modulate societal media, but we first request to person nan ineligible infrastructure to enforce it. A abrupt closure for illustration this is controlling," said Digital Rights Nepal president Bhola Nath Dhungana. Another group, nan Federation of Nepali Journalists said nan measurement "undermines property state and citizens' correct to information." Also expressing guidance was nan New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists.

Nepal is nan latest authorities to tighten societal media oversight, pinch countries including nan US, Europe and Brazil having done truthful to varying degrees of late. Nepal's neighbour India has besides mandated section compliance officers and takedown mechanisms (and moreover threatened to jail Twitter labor astatine 1 point).