Nepal to block Facebook, other platforms over registration non-compliance

(Web Desk): Nepal said on Thursday it would block access to several social media platforms, including Facebook, after they failed to register with authorities in a crackdown on misuse.

The government says users with fake IDs are spreading hatred and rumours, committing cybercrime, and disturbing social harmony via some platforms in a nation where 90% of the 30 million population uses the internet.

It had given companies until Wednesday to register with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and name a local contact, grievance handler and person responsible for self-regulation - or face being shut down.

On Thursday, a government notice told the Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) regulator to deactivate unregistered social media but gave no details of which platforms faced action.

A communications ministry official told Reuters that TikTok, Viber, WeTalk, Nimbuzz, and Poppo Live had registered, but others, including Facebook, had not.

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"We gave them enough time to register and repeatedly requested them to comply with our request," Communications and IT Minister Prithvi Subba Gurung said of those platforms facing shutdown.

"But they ignored, and we had to shut their operations in Nepal."

Governments worldwide, including the US, EU, Brazil, and Australia, are tightening oversight of social media and big tech, citing concerns over misinformation, data privacy, online harm and national security.

India has mandated local compliance officers and takedown mechanisms, while China maintains strict censorship and licensing controls.

Critics say many of these measures risk stifling free expression, but regulators argue that stricter accountability is needed to protect users and preserve social order.

“It (social media) should be legally monitored, made disciplined and not be allowed to become malicious, but not shut down,” said Manish Jha, spokesperson of the National Independent Party, the fourth largest group in Nepal's parliament.