Kathmandu, Nepal (AP) – Nepal’s government lifted the ban on social media platforms on Tuesday the day after police were killed Mass Street protest They killed 19 people in response to the ban.
District administration ordered an indefinite curfew in the capital, and schools were closed. Two other cities also suffered curfews.
Several widely used social networks, such as Facebook, X, YouTube Blocked Last week, Himalayan countries failed to comply with the new requirement to register and submit to government oversight.
The rally against the ban swells to tens of thousands of people in Kathmandu, crowds surround the parliamentary building and police fire at protesters.
“Stop the ban on social media. Stop corruption, not social media,” the crowd chanted, waving the flag. The Monday rally refers to people born between 1995 and 2010.
Scores for the seven murdered and injured were accepted at the National Trauma Centre, the country’s leading hospital.
“Many of them look serious and shot in the head and chest,” Dr. Budri Lisa said. The family was waiting for the news of relatives, but people lined up to donate their blood.
Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli In a statement, he formed an investigation committee and submitted a report within 15 days, saying compensation will be given for the lives lost for the injured and free treatment.
Home Minister Ramesh Rekak resigned at an emergency cabinet meeting late Monday.
The violence unfolded as Nepal government pursues a broader attempt to regulate social media with a bill aimed at ensuring that the platform is “goodly managed, responsible and accountable.” The proposal has been widely criticized as a tool for censorship and as a tool for punishing government opponents who express protests online.
The registration requirements were applied to around 20 social networks widely used in Nepal.
Neither Google, which owns YouTube, nor Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, responded to requests for comment from the Associated Press. Elon Musk’s X platform also did not respond.
Video sharing apps Tiktok, Viber and three other platforms are registering and operating without interruption.
The bill would include asking businesses to appoint a national liaison office or contact information. Rights groups call it an attempt by the government to curb freedom of expression and fundamental rights.
Nepal was banned in 2023 Tiktok To confuse “social harmony, goodwill, and spread vulgar material.” The ban was lifted last year After Tiktok Executives pledged to comply with local laws, including the ban on porn sites passed in 2018.
