The Nepal government was the first to blink. In a late-night decision, the government lifted the ban on social media apps after protests, led by Gen Z, turned violent, resulting in clashes with the police that led to the death of 19 people.
Nepal Minister for Communication, Information and Broadcasting Prithvi Subba Gurung announced that the government has withdrawn its earlier decision to ban social media sites.
“The government has already decided to open social media by addressing the demand of Gen-Z,” said the minister, following an emergency cabinet meeting.
However, Mr Gurung also stated that the government does not regret its earlier decision to shut the social media platforms down.
“Since protests were being staged using this issue as a pretext, the decision has been taken to reopen social media sites,” he said.
Mr Gurung also requested the ‘Gen Z’ group to call off their protest.
The cabinet also formed an investigation committee to look into the day’s violence. It has been given 15 days’ time to prepare a report.
During the cabinet briefing, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had said that one of the banned social media platforms, X, had responded in a manner that disrespected Nepal’s national sovereignty.
According to a minister, X had stated that it would not register in Nepal at all.
“We had been saying this for one and a half years. We had asked them to get listed. We had asked them to comply with Nepal’s laws. It is a matter of respecting our national sovereignty,” Prime Minister Oli had said.
Last week, Nepal’s government blocked access to several social media platforms after the companies missed the deadline to register under new regulations, aimed at cracking down on misuse.
Nepal’s government has said social media users create fake IDs and use them to spread hate speech and fake news, commit fraud and other crimes on these platforms.
A government notice directed the regulator, Nepal Telecommunications Authority, to deactivate unregistered social media but gave no details of which platforms faced action.
Local media reported that the banned platforms include Meta’s Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, Alphabet’s YouTube, China’s Tencent and Snapchat, Pinterest and X.
Earlier today, authorities imposed a curfew around the parliament building after thousands of the protesters tried to enter the legislature by breaking a police barricade. Police had orders to use water cannons, batons and rubber bullets to control the crowd.
Protesters carried placards carrying slogans such as “Shut down corruption and not social media”, “Unban social media”, and “Youths against corruption”, as they marched through Kathmandu.
Many people in the Himalayan nation think corruption is rampant, and opponents have criticised the government of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli for failing to deliver on its promises.
There have been several corruption cases reported in the last few years involving ministers, former ministers and high-profile officials.
Since the ban, videos contrasting the struggles of ordinary Nepalis with the children of politicians flaunting luxury goods and expensive vacations have gone viral on TikTok, which was not part of the banned social media platforms.
“There have been movements abroad against corruption, and they are afraid that might happen here as well,” protester Bhumika Bharati told AFP.
In July, the government blocked access to the Telegram messaging app, citing a rise in online fraud and money laundering. It lifted a nine-month ban on TikTok in August last year after the platform agreed to comply with Nepali regulations.
The United Nations has demanded a swift and transparent probe of the violence.
“We are shocked by the killings and injury of protesters in Nepal today and urge a prompt and transparent investigation,” UN rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said in a statement.
