KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Nepal’s government lifted ban on on social media platforms Tuesday a day after violent street protests that left at least 19 people killed.
Some of the world’s largest platforms, including Facebook, X and YouTube were blocked last week, followed by a massive protest rally in the capital Kathmandu on Monday.
Police in Nepal’s capital of Kathmandu opened fire Monday on demonstrators protesting a government attempt to regulate social media.
The Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak also resigned late Monday at an emergency Cabinet meeting called by Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli.
Rallies swept the streets around the Parliament building, which was surrounded by tens of thousands of people angry at authorities who said the companies had failed to register and submit to government oversight.
The gunfire unfolded as the government pursues a broader attempt to regulate social media with a bill aimed at ensuring the platforms are “properly managed, responsible and accountable.” The proposal has been widely criticized as a tool for censorship and for punishing government opponents who voice their protests online.
About two dozen social networks that are widely used in Nepal were repeatedly given notices to register their companies officially in the Himalayan nation, the government said. Those that failed to register have been blocked since last week.
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 did not respond either.
The video-sharing app TikTok, Viber and three other platforms have registered and operated without interruption.
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