Nepal blocks Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, X over rule breach, amid censorship concerns
TechCrunch3 days
Nepal Blocks 26 Social Media Platforms, Including YouTube
Above: Social media apps appear on the screen of a user's phone in Nepal on Sept. 4, 2025. Image copyright: Subaas Shrestha/NurPhoto/Getty Images
The Spin
Pro-government narrative
This registration requirement protects citizens from harmful content and ensures accountability. The Supreme Court clearly ruled that platforms must register to monitor misinformation and unwanted content. Companies like Meta repeatedly ignored multiple government requests and diplomatic outreach over several months, demonstrating a complete disregard for Nepal's laws and sovereignty.
Government-critical narrative
The sweeping social media ban sets a dangerous precedent that undermines press freedom and citizens' fundamental rights to information and expression. This controlling approach directly hits constitutional guarantees and creates an architecture of censorship similar to authoritarian models, threatening Nepal's democratic aspirations and leaving millions of citizens and diaspora communities without essential communication tools.