At the least 14 folks have been reportedly killed in Nepal on Monday after police opened hearth on protesters demonstrating towards a authorities ban on main social media platforms.
Crowds of tens of 1000’s gathered within the capital Kathmandu to oppose the choice by authorities to dam most social media platforms, together with Fb, X and YouTube, saying that the businesses had did not register and undergo authorities oversight.
1000’s of youths, together with college students, many of their college or faculty uniforms, have been stopped by police from marching in the direction of the parliament constructing, the place demonstrations should not allowed. Protesters carried the nationwide flag and placards with slogans corresponding to “Shut down corruption and never social media”, “Unban social media”, and “Youths towards corruption”, as they marched via Kathmandu.
Tv visuals confirmed some protesters throwing projectiles at police personnel who have been wearing riot gear and huddled in a single place as smoke from tear gasoline shells stuffed the road. Protesters additionally pushed towards police barricades and introduced them down.
Police fired tear gasoline, water cannons and reside rounds as protesters tried to storm the legislature.
Authorities later imposed a curfew across the parliament advanced and the encompassing Singha Durbar district, residence to the places of work of the prime minister, president and different ministries.
A police spokesperson stated safety forces had been instructed to make use of batons, water cannons and rubber bullets to regain management however confirmed that firearms have been additionally deployed when crowds overran barricades.
The unrest adopted the federal government’s resolution final week to dam entry to 26 platforms, together with Fb, X (previously Twitter), YouTube and WhatsApp, after what the federal government claims to be the businesses’ failure to register in Nepal and settle for official oversight.
Officers stated repeated notices had been ignored and argued that unregulated social media was enabling the unfold of faux identities, fraud and hate speech. Solely 5 companies – together with TikTok and Viber – had complied with the requirement and remained accessible.
A invoice now earlier than parliament seeks to require platforms to arrange native places of work and guarantee they’re “correctly managed, accountable and accountable”. Rights teams have condemned the draft regulation as a instrument for censorship designed to silence dissent.
The ban has proved particularly controversial amongst younger Nepalis, with Monday’s march dubbed the “protest of Gen Z” in native media. Greater than 90 per cent of the nation’s 30 million folks use the web, and social networks are central to political debate.
Nepal briefly banned TikTok in 2023, accusing it of spreading indecent materials and threatening “social concord”. That call was reversed final yr after the corporate pledged compliance with native guidelines. Pornographic web sites have been blocked nationwide since 2018.
The federal government of prime minister KP Sharma Oli has confronted mounting criticism for failing to sort out corruption and financial stagnation. Monday’s bloodshed marks the deadliest confrontation with protesters since his administration took workplace.
Nepal’s social media shutdown comes as governments worldwide, together with the US, EU, Brazil, India, China and Australia, take steps to tighten oversight of social media and Massive Tech resulting from rising concern about points corresponding to misinformation, information privateness, on-line hurt and nationwide safety.
Critics say many of those measures danger stifling free expression, however regulators say stricter controls are wanted to guard customers and protect social order.
