Social media companies have defied the Nepal government’s request to get registered in Nepal if they want to operate in Nepali territory. Nepal’s Ministry of Communication and Information Technology had issued a notice asking them either to get registered or face a ban in the country. However, till date, social media giants such as Meta and X have not approached the ministry.

Companies, institutions or persons who are operating or plan to operate social media platforms in Nepal were asked to get enlisted. In addition, platforms must establish a point of contact, name a resident grievance handling officer and an officer for monitoring compliance.

Till date, only Viber, TikTok and Weetok have registered with the ministry. It has been two months since we notified Meta about the registration, but we have not received any response, Minister for Communication and Information Technology Prithvi Subba Gurung said. 

Addressing a program in Rupandehi recently, the minister had said the government would ban the platforms by Chaitra-end (April 13) if they did not register with the government by then. Apart from issuing a public notice, the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology had sent separate letters to Facebook and X asking them to come with necessary documents for the registration but there was no response from them.

Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp operate under the Meta and all three apps are very popular in Nepal. Mainly, Facebook is doing a big business in Nepal but it is not paying any taxes to Nepal, violating Nepal’s law. If they are registered in Nepal, officials say, they will be under government scrutiny.

Similarly, government officials say, if they establish an office or contact person in Kathmandu, it will be helpful to fight misinformation and disinformation that is happening through these platforms. Last year, the government banned TikTok for one year which ultimately forced the social media giant to register with Nepal authority and work under Nepal’s rule. 

The directive issued by the government makes a distinction on social network platforms based on the number of users, classifying those with fewer than 100,000 users as “small” platforms and those with more than 100,000 users as “large” platforms. This classification has significant implications, particularly for the larger platforms. Specifically, large-scale social network platforms are mandated to establish a residential “point of contact” and officials inspect compliance of self-regulation.