Social media giants Facebook and Instagram faced outages in Nepal, while other applications remained operational.
Nepal Enforces Ban on Unregistered Social Media Platforms, Causing Outage for Facebook and Instagram
In a move that has left many users struggling to communicate with their families and homes, the government of Nepal has enforced a ban on unregistered social media platforms. The ban, which was decided at a meeting led by Communication and Information Technology Minister Prithivi Subba Gurung, has caused an outage for popular platforms such as Facebook and Instagram.
The ban applies to all unregistered platforms operating in Nepal, as clarified by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. The ministry's notice requires operational platforms to register with the ministry, designate contact points in Nepal, appoint officials to receive local complaints, and assign compliance monitoring officers.
Despite the ban, as of 10:45 PM (NPT), WhatsApp, Twitter, and YouTube have remained operational during the outage. Major social media platforms such as Meta (Facebook, Alphabet, X, Reddit, and LinkedIn) have not yet contacted the Ministry regarding the registration process. The government has repeatedly asked social media platforms operating in Nepal, whether from within the country or abroad, to register, but Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has not complied, stating it is not ready to comply with Nepal's laws and constitution.
Widely used platforms like Facebook, Twitter (X), and WhatsApp have yet to initiate registration. Currently, platforms like Viber, TikTok, Wetalk, and Nimbuzz are registered, while Telegram and Global Diary are in the process. Nepalese living abroad are maintaining contact with their families despite the government's social media block primarily by using VPN (Virtual Private Network) services, which allow them to bypass the ban on major platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
The ban follows a Supreme Court order and a recent ministerial meeting. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court issued a mandamus order directing unlicensed platforms to stop broadcasting advertisements and content without legal permission. The government set a seven-day deadline for mandatory registration, which expired on Wednesday past midnight, without any platform operators submitting applications.
The cases were consolidated before the issuance of the mandamus, effectively directing that unlicensed platforms must stop broadcasting advertisements and content without legal permission. The government has emphasized that platforms may resume operation once they complete registration and comply with national regulations.
The move comes after writ petitions seeking restrictions on advertisements and content broadcast through unlicensed social media platforms, OTT apps, and internet browsers were filed in December 2020 by advocates B.P. Gautam and Anita Bajgain, and Manoj Gurung, General Secretary of the Nepal Cable Television Federation.
As the situation develops, it remains to be seen how the government will address the non-compliance of major social media platforms and when the ban will be lifted. Users are encountering issues like "hmm... something went wrong", "This site can't be reached", and "Safari can't connect to the server" when attempting to log in to Facebook and Instagram.
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