Nepal’s government has banned dozens of social media platforms after they failed to comply with new registration requirements, disrupting essential communication and raising concerns over free speech.
The 26 blocked platforms include messaging apps like WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram and WeChat, as well as websites like YouTube and LinkedIn.
The ban, which went into effect on Thursday after a one-week ultimatum to the social media companies expired, has caused confusion across the country. It has ignited fears about how it could affect press freedom and the tourism industry, and particularly about how families can continue to communicate with relatives working abroad as migrant laborers. About 7.5 percent of Nepal’s 29 million population was living abroad in 2021, according to census figures cited by the Nepal Economic Forum, a research institute.
Officials at Nepal’s ministry of communication and information technology said the ban was enforced after the platforms refused to comply with a new law regulating social media, despite several formal requests.