KATHMANDU: Foreign social media platforms, including Facebook, have yet to respond to the government’s call for registration in Nepal.
Despite repeated requests, the Ministry of Communications has not received any replies from Meta (Facebook’s parent company) or Twitter (X).
During an event in Rupandehi on Friday, Communications Minister and government spokesperson Prithvi Subba Gurung warned that Facebook could be shut down in Nepal if it fails to register by the set deadline of mid-April.
He stated, “It has been two months since we sent a notice to Meta regarding registration, but there has been no response. If it is not registered by mid-April, we will shut it down.”
However, while Minister Gurung mentioned that today is the deadline, officials clarified that the actual deadline is still a week away.
The government had issued a notice on March 20, giving platforms 30 days to comply, which means the registration period extends until April 20, 2025.
An official from the ministry confirmed that they would wait until April 20 before taking any further action.
“The minister may have misspoken regarding the deadline. The actual deadline is until April 20,” the official explained. “If registration is not completed by then, we will take action as per the law.”
According to Section 5 of the Directive 2080 on the Management of the Use of Social Media in Nepal, all individuals, companies, or organizations operating or intending to operate social media in Nepal must submit an application to the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology with the required documents.
The directive also mandates the establishment of a local contact point, a resident complaint hearing officer, and an officer to monitor compliance with self-regulation in Nepal.
So far, only three platforms—TikTok, Viber, and Bitok—have registered in accordance with these provisions. While TikTok and Viber are foreign platforms, Bitok is a Nepali platform.
Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, all operating under Meta, are widely used in Nepal.
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