Nepal social media ban lifted after 19 killed

Nepal social media ban lifted a weeklong block on major social media platforms a day after mass demonstrations left at least 19 people dead, underscoring a broader global slide in online freedoms as governments tighten control over digital speech, access, and infrastructure. The reversal followed curfews and nationwide outrage—largely led by Gen Z—against new requirements for platform registration and local compliance that rights groups criticized as censorship by another name.

Kathmandu ends its social media blackout after deadly Gen Z-led protests, spotlighting a global decline in internet freedom and a surge in VPN use.

Kathmandu, Nepal — Tuesday, September 9, 2025: Officials confirmed the nationwide block on about two dozen social platforms was withdrawn less than 24 hours after security forces opened fire on massive crowds, leaving at least 19 people dead and more than 100 injured, with curfews imposed in the Kathmandu Valley through Tuesday night to deter renewed unrest.

What happened in Nepal

• Nepal’s government said it blocked platforms including Facebook, X, and YouTube last week after the companies failed to register locally under new rules that require a liaison presence and formal compliance with Nepali law, prompting an immediate public backlash and demonstrations across Kathmandu and other cities.
• On Monday, tens of thousands of largely young protesters surrounded Parliament, chanting “End the ban on social media; combat corruption, not social media,” before police fired on crowds; by Tuesday morning the government lifted the block, citing the need to restore access while it pursues regulation through Parliament.
• Authorities had restricted access to 26 platforms, while a handful like TikTok and Viber remained online after registering, illustrating the policy’s core aim: compel platforms to establish local accountability mechanisms or face wholesale blocks, a move critics called a censorship tool against dissent.

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why Nepal bans social media platforms

• The episode highlights a multi-year global decline in online freedoms: Freedom House reports internet freedom fell for the 14th consecutive year in 2024, with China and Myanmar at the bottom and widening patterns of arrests, violence, and network manipulation used to silence digital expression.
• “Governments absolutely have a valid interest in seeking to regulate social media platforms,” said Kian Vesteinsson of Freedom House, “but wholesale blocks … result in wildly disproportionate harms,” cutting off tens of millions from speech, business, family ties, schooling, and health information, a warning directly applicable to Nepal’s blackout and its economic and social fallout.
• Aditya Vashistha of Cornell University called Nepal’s action part of a regional “playbook” to control narratives—a pattern observed in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh—reflecting a broader shift where even democracies curb digital spaces under the banners of safety and order.

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The policy at issue

• Nepal’s registration drive, backed by Cabinet directives and echoed in ministry orders to network operators, required foreign platforms to enlist with the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology and appoint in-country liaisons, with noncompliance triggering immediate blocks across ISPs.
• Government officials framed the effort as necessary to fight fraud, hate speech, and cybercrime, and to ensure platforms are “properly managed, responsible and accountable,” yet rights advocates warned these provisions could be used to target anonymity and amplify self-censorship among journalists and political critics.
• The Committee to Protect Journalists said the protests “underscore the widespread concerns over Nepal’s ban on social media,” urging the government to drop the order because “such a sweeping ban … severely hinders journalists’ work and the public’s right to know,” language that emphasizes press freedom risks from blanket restrictions.

On the ground: how Gen Z mobilized during the Nepal protest

• The protests were widely described as Gen Z-led, with crowds of young Nepalis pouring into central Kathmandu and clashing with police outside Parliament, where water cannons and tear gas preceded gunfire as security forces struggled to contain the surge toward government buildings.
• Officials imposed an indefinite daytime curfew across the Kathmandu Valley and neighboring districts, with restrictions reportedly lasting until midnight Tuesday (1815 GMT), in an effort to preempt memorial events and fresh mobilizations following the deaths and injuries from Monday’s crackdown.
• “This is about more than apps—it is about a future where voices aren’t switched off at the network level,” said one 21-year-old demonstrator near New Baneshwar, reflecting a broader sentiment that corruption and shrinking civic space, not just platform access, drove the crowds to the streets.

Global Internet Freedom Declines Again

• The blackout spurred a dramatic spike in demand for virtual private networks: Proton reported sign-ups in Nepal jumped by as much as 8,000% since September 3, underscoring the rapid pivot to circumvention tools when mainstream platforms go dark.
• Experts caution VPNs are not a cure-all; they can be costly, slow, and uneven in performance under heavy load or targeted throttling, which can degrade access to blocked platforms for many everyday users and small businesses dependent on social commerce.
• Reports from regional tech media also tracked the surge, noting sign-ups began climbing on September 3 and accelerated after full access was cut on September 4, a pattern consistent with blackout-driven adoption seen in other countries.

Regional context

• India’s Telecommunications Act, 2023, and related interception rules grant the state broad powers to restrict or intercept communications on grounds like security or public order, while the 2021 IT Rules put social media intermediaries and digital media under extensive oversight—measures critics argue risk censorship and diminish privacy.
• In Pakistan, lawmakers advanced amendments in January 2025 that impose sweeping controls on social media, including potential prison terms for “disinformation,” signaling a hardening regulatory environment that rights groups say can be used to suppress dissent or independent reporting.
• Freedom House’s data situates these moves within a wider deterioration across dozens of countries, where governments deploy legal, technical, and coercive tools to shape online narratives and police speech, often under the umbrella of safety, trust, and national sovereignty.

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What platforms say

• Major platforms including Google, Meta, and X did not immediately respond to requests for comment during the blackout and its aftermath, while TikTok and Viber continued to operate in Nepal after registering, illustrating a possible compliance path that avoids broad service disruption.
• Authorities indicated access would be restored gradually as services completed the registration process, though rights advocates warned that a registration-first paradigm can normalize shutdown threats as leverage in policy disputes.
• By Tuesday morning, Reuters confirmed apps were reachable again in Nepal, even as curfew measures remained in place to deter renewed mass gatherings tied to mourning and anti-corruption demands.

Expert and civil society quotes

• “Governments absolutely have a valid interest in seeking to regulate social media platforms … but wholesale blocks … result in wildly disproportionate harms,” said Kian Vesteinsson, Freedom House, stressing urgent privacy protections for at-risk users like human rights defenders and activists.
• “This broader pattern of controlling the narrative … is nothing new—taken from a playbook now well established,” said Aditya Vashistha, Cornell University, linking Nepal’s blackout to regional precedents in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.
• “Such a sweeping ban not only restricts freedom of expression, it also severely hinders journalists’ work and the public’s right to know,” the Committee to Protect Journalists said, urging the government to immediately rescind the order and restore access.

What to watch next

• Parliament’s debate on a social media bill will test whether safeguards for due process, transparency, and redress accompany platform registration and content rules, or whether sweeping provisions against anonymity and “misinformation” become enforcement shortcuts, risking repeat shutdowns.
• Platform calculus will hinge on the cost and liability of liaison offices, data requests, and local legal exposure, weighed against service continuity in a market where social networks underpin communications, education, healthcare information, and small business livelihoods.
• For a region already drifting toward tighter digital controls, Nepal’s experience is a case study in backlash: the speed of reversal after lethal force suggests public tolerance for network-level restrictions is thin when costs to life, livelihood, and trust surge overnight.

FAQs

• Nepal social media ban lifted Tuesday; Nepal protests leave at least 19 dead; global internet freedom declines again.

For ongoing updates on regulation outcomes, platform compliance, and civil society responses, follow trusted rights monitors and verified local outlets as Nepal debates a framework that balances safety with fundamental freedoms online.