Social Media Ban Attempt Triggers Popular Unrest in Nepal

Mass protests erupted in Kathmandu and several major cities in Nepal on September 8 due to a ban on several major social networks. According to the latest data, 22 people have died and more than 300 have been injured. Protesters seized and set fire to the parliament building. Footage from the riot-torn capital of Nepal is in the Forbes photo gallery.

On September 4, the Nepalese authorities banned the activities of social networks that failed to register with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology within the specified period. This move followed a Supreme Court directive that all online platforms and social networks (domestic and foreign) must undergo official registration in the country to track undesirable content. The ban affected Meta, Alphabet (YouTube), Reddit, X, and LinkedIn platforms. As a result, on September 8, mass protests by young people, dubbed the "Generation Z Revolution," began in major cities across Nepal.

Military forces were dispatched to the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu, and a curfew was imposed. During clashes with the police, according to various sources, between 19 and 22 people were killed and at least 300 were injured. The ban on social media was lifted, but the protests did not stop—demonstrators attacked the offices of the Prosecutor General, the parliament building, and the Kathmandu District Court. Protesters also set fire to the house of the country's former Prime Minister, Jhal Nath Khanal; his 69-year-old wife was inside and died. According to the latest reports, protesters are storming a prison in the city of Dhangadhi in the west of the country, and hundreds of prisoners have escaped.

Nepalese Prime Minister Sharma Oli, as well as all 42 members of the opposition National Democratic Party, resigned on September 9. Due to the protests, Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu was closed, and Nepalese army forces were deployed on its territory.