The Nepalese government has reportedly withdrawn its ban on major social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, after violent protests left at least 19 people dead and hundreds injured.
The government said the ban of 26 social media platforms was issued after these companies allegedly failed to comply with a new law requiring them to register locally, issued by Nepal’s ministry of communication and information technology.
In the weeks leading up to the ban, social media in the region had been inundated with the “nepo campaign”, a widespread social media campaign accusing politicians’ children of leading luxurious lifestyles and the current government of spreading corruption.
The new measure sparked outrage and led to a protest on Monday, with large numbers of GenZ protesters taking to the streets to chant slogans such as “no to social media bans, no to corruption, no to social media”.
Protesters interpreted the move as a form of censorship and a way for the government to distract citizens from crucial issues such as corruption and lack of economic opportunities.
One protester, Sabana Budathoki told the BBC: “Rather than [the] social media ban, I think everyone’s focus is on corruption,” she explained.
She added: “We want our country back. We came to stop corruption.”
But the government said the ban was aimed at combating fake news, hate speech and online fraud, the BBC reported.
The demonstration quickly escalated leading thousands of people to attempt to storm the parliament building in Kathmandu.
A curfew was imposed in several cities and some politicians had to be evacuated by helicopter due to threats.
The government lifted the ban following an emergency cabinet meeting, citing the need to respond to the demands of young people, the BBC reported on Wednesday.
The unrest forced Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli to resign, while on Monday evening Home Secretary Ramesh Lekhak resigned following criticism of his government’s use of force during the protests.
In 2023, Nepal banned TikTok after describing content on the platform as “detrimental to social harmony”.
Rekha Sharma, minister for communications and information technology, told the BBC at the time that the social media app was involved in spreading malicious content.
